


It's Simply Robotics

by I_Am_A_Silver_Lining



Category: Transformers: Prime
Genre: F/M, Gladiatorial arena, Humor, M/F, MoonStrider, MoonStrider had admirers, Multi, NSFW, One-Sided Attraction, Romance, Smut, Threesome - F/M/M, gladiator, m/m - Freeform, orgys, tragic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-15
Updated: 2016-02-19
Packaged: 2018-03-01 13:05:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 43
Words: 98,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2774081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Am_A_Silver_Lining/pseuds/I_Am_A_Silver_Lining
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Born into a new world, MoonStrider adjusts to being cybertronian. A long journey lays ahead of her, and she must fight for her survival. Accidents happen, friends and enemies are made, energon is spilled, and laughter is shared. Hard times come,</p>
<p> but MoonStrider is never going to give up.<br/> (Rated t, rating will go up in later chapters)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologe

** It’s Simply Robotics **

They say the pain of forever burns like knife in one’s soul. Tearing into their being, the years slowly withering away at their sanities like chisels against rocks until you have nothing left bet a pile of dust… and hate. So easily can evil creep into the minds of those long lived, so easy was it to fall into darkness when nothing good seemed to come your way anymore.

                **_How did she survive?_**

                Lights danced in twisted spirals, entwining with lasers and flickering beams of glowing matter. Warmth filled her mind; she couldn’t be sure she had a body anymore.

                Was this death?

                No, death was a pleasure she would never know, fact came from the innumerable times she had sustained injury and they had healed in a matter of days. Yes, fate and life were cruel deities, if she did say so herself, and loved their little toy. No, even after millions of years of being those bastardous deities’ sideshow entertainment, she wasn’t graced with peace of death.

                But she did feel different. She felt new and greatly refreshed, like her youth had been pumped into her soul through pipes the size of subway carts. A light feeling drifted through the front of her consciousness. Subconsciously, she reached for her power core, the energy that made her who she was, power and all. Back to how Fate and Life were cruel bastards? For every attempt on her life, they had given her a new core, a new ability that gave her hell and back to control and maintain, to make her even harder to kill. Yes, those cruel, sadistic bastards. Her subconscious froze, and then gave her consciousness a panic that rivaled that of a hurricane.

                Her core wasn’t there.

                Or, at least, it was changed; more so than ever.

                Her former powers were vacant, old scars gone; leaving her with a core as pure as a new born. Or new sparked, her consciousness told her. This left her with a sense of awe. Her powers no longer plagued her! Gone were the strings that held her to life; she could finally die in peace. She drifted, her mind going into a blissful lull. Colors danced and shot around her, and then a strand came to her, connecting to her very soul- her very _spark._ Another consciousness brushed against her, light fingers tracing over a body- a _frame_ \- she couldn’t see. Love, so much love, flooded her like a dam breaking, flowing over her spark and unseen frame in waves. Adoration and awe accompanied it and she couldn’t help but love the consciousness back, sending her own love over the link- the _bond_.

                She drifted once again, content that the unseen consciousness would watch over her as she slept- _recharged_.


	2. Chapter 1: Sparked with a Purpose

** Chapter 1 Sparked with Purpose **

                “It’s a femme.” The word came out with a tone of happiness. The seasoned medic held the energon covered femme with tender servos, carful of any and all tender spots on the new spark. It was quite strange, and very frightening, when the sparkling didn’t make a noise, just stared up at him with intelligent optics. Optics that shone a beautiful and haunting shade of gold, ones that spoke of vorns of experience.

                This wasn’t what he had trained for, or ever expected, they had specialists for this. He was just a medic, an old one at that. He wasn’t entirely sure; one such as the little femme in his arms had been sparked before, but not enough times for this to be properly studied. Reincarnations were rare, but not unheard of on Cybertron, one was sparked maybe once every few million vorns. Now one was here staring up at him with curiosity and a bit of surprise in her tiny optics. Small silver servos grabbed at his frame, feeling textures and tracing patterns on not-so-shiny paint.

                The femme turned and looked to her creators, two mechs by the designations of Seajump and Thundergouge.

                Seajump was the femmling’s carrier: he was the one to carry her while she was still developing in his chassis. He was a large mech, with soft shades of green and blue, his finlike audio receptors matching those of his creation and tilting back at an angle. His green optics looked at the femme in adoration and awe.

                Thundergouge was the femmling’s sire, her creator. He was larger than Seajump by quite a bit, with black and grey as his main coloring. He had the special ability to create sonic booms that propelled his opponents away from him, hence where part of his designation came from. Thundergouge obtained the second part of his name from the three smooth gouges on either side of his face plates. He looked at the femme with a sense of disappointment, clearly wanting a mech to carry on his line. But instead he got a femme.

                A femme it was, clearly; though an abnormally large one. If she could stand, she would already reach the medic’s thy plates, which was a good ten feet up. A pair of thick, double wings set on the femmes back struts, ironically too large for her too large frame. But it was rather adorable in the medic’s opinion, and with her double wings, she gave the appearance of a clumsy butterfly.

               Fin-like antenna twitched at every sound, a pair of small curved spikes sat nestled just above where antenna met helm, looking somewhat like a crown. Her chevron sat at her front of her helm, right in between her optics and up until it reached a point extended over her helm. Her neck struts and the plates over her abdominal plating looked similar with stripes of malleable plating for maneuverability, wires and cables were seen in between the small gaps of that plating. Her chassis had a set of windshields, horizontal and parallel to each other and would, no doubt, angle outward as she grew into her frame set. Her peds were different than others, her ankle joints sitting upon a tripod set of stabilizers that would twitch and curl around the medic’s arm plates for stability. She had a standard set of servos, five digits on each. On each of her shoulders was a set of three black plates that flared outward and, judging by sight, were sharp to the touch. The femmling’s color scheme was normal, silver as the base color with black and dark blue accents.

              The medic could already tell she was going to be quite the catch when older.

              The medic gently cleaned the femmling off as her optics roamed the room, taking in every little bit of everything there was to see. An unexpected ticklish spot made the sparkling giggle and her antenna to fan outwards at the sudden stimulation of sensors. Wrapping her snuggly in a metal mesh, the young medic handed the femmling over to her carrier.

              “It’s a femme.” He stated once again during the passing. Seajump beamed, happy and awed in the smaller life form he cradled in his servos. He cooed down to his creation, twiddling two of his digits in front of her optical relays, making the femmling giggle once more and grab the larger digits and stick them in her mouth. Seajump sighed in happiness, gently pulling his now moist digits from her mouth and laying his servo gently over her chassis.

              “She’s beautiful.” A thick Vosian accent rang out. Seajump looked up to his mate, “Darling, look at our creation, isn’t she perfect.” And in Seajump’s optics, she was.

To Thundergouge: not so much. In his optics he saw a femmling, no doubt of that; femmes were far scarcer than their counterparts on Cybertron, and- to Thundergouge- quite useless. Not to say he didn’t love his creation, no… he guessed that he did, but it was a different type of love. It was his creation, and he would love it for being so, but his love could only extend so far. He would love his creation purely for the fact that it was his creation.  But, it wasn’t a mech. It wasn’t able to continue his line. IT… was quite a disappointment.

However, he didn’t wish for his love to know of his downtrodden thoughts, so he smiled down and confirmed his love’s thoughts. But, when all was said and done, that femmling just stared at him, eerily, like it knew something, understood something. He didn’t know just how much she did.

Oh yes, she could see the disappointment, as clear as daylight. To her, these metal men were surprisingly easy to read, easier than many of the species that she had ever encountered. His optics would crunch up slightly at the ends, his lips would press flat and purse at the sides. He would fidget and restlessly move side to side in a slight sway.

She didn’t understand why he didn’t like her; she hadn’t done anything to upset him, had she? Had she done something unintentionally to make him look at her like his world came crashing down?

Seajump looked up at Thundergouge, sensing his disappointment through their bond. He sighed and patted his armor, choosing not to say anything to him. Looking back at the sparkling, Seajump’s spark filled past the brim with overpowering love for his special little creation. The love overflowed, filling his bond with the little femmling. She chirruped, her little antenna wiggling as she clung to her Carrier.

Her silver armor glistened in the dim lighting of the med-bay, curious optics rotating around the room, but suspiciously avoiding Thundergouge’s gaze. Her little peds kicked out in the metal mesh she was wrapped in.

“What is her designation?” the medic asked, holding the femme’s official data pad of creation, waiting to fill in the blanks. Thundergouge motioned for his bonded to do the honors; he was never good with designations anyways. Seajump hummed whiles looking down at the femmling. They were going to name the mech that Thundergouge wanted “HydroStrider”. Seajump played with the name for a few moments, trying to decide what name would fit his little femmling best. An idea popped into his processor. He toyed with the thought, applying it to her and seeing if the name would fit in the vorns to come.  Seajump smiled, his lip plating curling up into a soft smile as he looked upon his creation.

“MoonStrider, you shall be called MoonStrider.” The little femmling squawked, clearly liking the designation that had been given to her. Seajump once again twiddled his digits down at her, making her giggle and reach to grab them. The medic across the room hummed as he wrote down the designation in sharp cybertronian glyphs. After that, he set the data pad on a nearby counter and came up to the happy carrier and his offspring. Scanning and checking vitals, he deemed them clear to go, only if Seajump promised to take it easy.

And with that, the two new creators went off into the cycle, toting their new femmling with them.


	3. Chapter 2: New World

** Chapter 2: New World **

It had been a few orns since MoonStrider’s reincarnation into a Cybertronian, and so far it was good. By ‘good’ meaning a total blast; it was quiet fun being a metal being, and her past knowledge made it all the better. Her creators could never figure out how she kept escaping that infernal crib of hers. She crawled all over the place, exploring and learning about her surroundings with an intent and hungry gaze.

                It was strange, very strange to be so small and see ones so large. She felt like an ant looking into the face of a giant. Small servos, small peds, small everything; but she’d seen smaller. There were other younglings that she has seen, cradled into the warm arms of their carriers as they walked down the streets of Iacon. Most were smaller than her, by quite a bit. But luckily, sparklings like her came in all different sizes.

                Her Carrier loved to hold her, just cradling her in his strong arms and preening her tiny delicate wings with his slightly blunted claws, and it was during one of these preening sessions that MoonStrider found out that she could purr.

                The first time it happened, she had been so shocked that she had started to cry, wondering what was wrong with her and why she was making such weird sounds. Her carrier had held her close and explained soothingly that it was normal. She had calmed down after that into a hiccupping mess of previously bawling sparkling.

                That was another thing; her emotions were erratic, flying every which way in a dizzying dance that gave MoonStrider a helm ache every time she atempted to sort them. Her emotions were so strong, constantly tugging on her every thought, and the more she tried to shove down the feelings, the more they clung and the more pain every shove she made got. She was fighting a losing battle that the other side was determined to win. She was losing, and those emotions were slipping through the cracks in her walls, seeping into her old soul and integrating them-selves into her very being. It had gotten to a point that she had actually started to _care_ about her creators.

                Other than the fact of her strange emotional conundrum, MoonStrider had found that she now had a very childish part in her mind, a part that was slowly consuming and overlaying her more sensible, older mindset. Her mind often went from a smart, wise one, to a stupid, naïve one that made the older part of her angered from-what she deemed- the sheer stupidity of it.  The younger part of her was nagging, deeming anything within reach of her arm struts edible, that anything and everything she could get her digits on MUST be crammed into her mouth.

                And that was what she was dealing with right now.

                Staring at the slightly glowing object in front of her, her inner youngling urged her to insert it into her mouth.

                No

                It looks tasty though

                But dangerous

                Tasty

                Oh well, why not?

                MoonStrider grabbed the glowing blob of stuff. It was strangely warm in her servos, slipping in between her digits slowly. Dangerous, but tasty. Plopping it into her mouth, it jiggled and wiggled between her denta as she tried to chew it. It was like gum, she couldn’t really chew it, just maneuver it in between her denta and try and divide it, wasn’t working in her favor though. The taste was strange, electric and numbing, and it didn’t feel all that good on her tongue - her _glossa._ Swishing it around her mouth a few more times, her face plates pulled into a grimace as the taste intensified, making her mouth feel prickly. 

                MoonStrider quickly spit out the nasty stuff, her mouth now feeling numb. The older part of her processor had a smug air about it, radiating a know-it-all field that momentarily squashed the younger part of her. But the older side of her didn’t have much time to gloat, as the sloshy stuff she had put in her mouth finally shown its true colors.

                And exploded

                The older half was shoved aside as the younger took over, the shock in her mind from the small explosion so close to her setting off something in her. MoonStrider began to sob and cry, light blue, glowing tears of coolant running from her optics. Ped steps were heard close by as her wails intensified when she was not immediately comforted. A pair of large, warm servos grasped around her waist, hauling her up into a warm chassis. Burying her faceplates into the large chassis, she pointed an accusing digit towards a small scorch mark on the once shiny metal flooring.

                A series of thuds came within hearing range, and a moment later, a pair of shiny black peds came into view. MoonStrider continued to sob into the chassis of her Carrier, her wails only dying down when her Carrier started to stroke the edges of her wings.

                “Thundergouge, is that your combustible ammo gel?” Seajump asked in an all too serious voice, clearly hiding his anger at his bondmate’s obvious blunder.  Thundergouge looked at the scorched flooring, narrow optics and downturned lip plates. He didn’t know how his explosive gel had gotten out of his safe.

                The gel was only used off world, where Thundergouge made his living by traveling to different worlds and bringing back specimens for scientists or collectors. Non senate specimens of course, to do otherwise would be illegal. It was a hard business, but it paid well. The gel was only used when a larger specimen turned hostile.

                To find the gel here, in his creations servos, upset Thundergouge greatly. He didn’t even know how it got out of his vault. Thundergouge turned and trudged his way through their home, passing strange furniture and decorations that came from Thundergouge’s off-world searches. Coming to a rather large door, the black mech punched in a passcode and the large door receded into its frame, revealing Thundergouge’s at home office.

                It was large and spacious, filled with strangely soft furniture and an even stranger floor covering. The walls were lined with pieces of art, shelves of odd trinkets and doodads, and a strange non-digital time-keeper. Passing all the weird things, Thundergouge went to a wall, suspiciously bare of any odds and ends that packed the rest of the room. Standing in front of the metal wall, the space merchant pushed his servo into a part of it, making it concave into itself. Another panel popped out where his servo pushed and he put in a long, complicated password that would make the best hackers helms spin.

                The wall slid back and revealed a vault and another panel and passcode. The vault finally opened to reveal untouched credits, but an empty gel compartment. Thundergouge fumed, someone had gotten past his passcodes and had stolen his special gel, but for some reason, left all of the credits. The space merchant quickly closed the vault and turned, closing the wall behind him.

                His bonded stood by the door on his way out, a question in his optics.

                “Somebot broke into the vault; all of the combustive gel is gone. I’m going to report this to the local enforcers and try and find out who stole the gel. I’ll be back sometime next cycle.” Seajump nodded at his mate’s words as Thundergouge stepped past him and headed to the front door, then proceeded to leave their home.

                Seajump stared at the now calm sparkling in his servos. Giving a heavy ventilation, he turned and walked off to play with his creation.

                MoonStrider vented deeply, the notion unneeded, but did well to calm her down. The small explosion had shocked her at its close proximity, but thankfully did no damage other than a slight burn on her glossa. She felt Carrier sigh as he walked down a metal hall, towards her room no doubt. And that dreaded crib.  Her frame tensed at the thought, her wings going ram-rod straight out of her frame. Carrier must have noticed her tensed frame and started to stroke the backs of her wings with one lone digit. The effect was immediate as her frame began to unwind. Pleasant sensations went throughout her whole frame from her wings. A small purr made its way from a part deep in her chassis and past her parted lip components. Even the older side of her was happily relishing the feelings, pressing her wings high up and into her Carrier’s gentle servo.

                MoonStrider curled up and into her Carrier’s warm chassis, an audio pressed into him, listening to the lulling thrum of his life-force. It was a steady beat, almost like a heart, but a far slower, single thump. MoonStrider found her own spark responding to her Carrier’s, slowing down from its nervous, fast pace to match his. A calm peace fell over her, flowing through her bonds to bother her Carrier and her angered Sire.

                MoonStrider felt her carrier reach back, all attention completely devoted to her and her alone at the moment. Her Sire was far too busy at the moment to really respond, but she could feel his spark slightly calm with her own.

                Seajump reached MoonStrider’s room. Opening the door, he walked though, carrying MoonStrider. The room was of decent size, leaving plenty of room for MoonStrider to grow and play. A silver crib lay off to the far side of the room, a multitude of soft organic plush things laid within, obviously taken from Thundergouge’s large collection. Other things were strewn about the room. A small royal blue table with pretty ebony engravments stood opposite to her bed with a tiny matching chair. A larger chair sat in the corner closest to her bed, a small orb hovered over it. The orb was a light blue shade with a small switch at the top. Seajump click said switch and the whole orb glowed a soft shade of blue over the duo as Seajump sat in the chair. Pulling a lever on the side, the chair reformed to fit Seajump’s need, transforming into a steep sitting, mechanical rocking chair.

                Another button was clicked, on the wall this time, and a panel slid back to reveal a data pad shelf. Seajump searched for a good story to read his little one.

                As this all happened, MoonStrider watched with interest. The technology of these metal beings astounded her older half. She had seen advanced technology in her former race, yes, but it was used for military and medical uses. These metal men used it in common, every day- _orbital cycle_ \- means. They were truly advanced beings. She still didn’t understand their weird phone dial and whirly language, but she got vague impressions over her bonds. So when her Carrier started to speak, she closed her optics and concentrated on her bond with him. Images filtered through of the story he was reading, a metal dog chasing a metal cat through a forest made of glowing crystals. The cat ran up a metal spiral and taunted the dog below with unknown, but obviously smug words. The dog sat under the spiral and spoke up to the cat, the cat remained where it was with all its smugness. Further on into the story, a pair of hunters came. The dog tried to warn the cat to run, but the cat didn’t believe him. The cat ended up shot by the hunters while the dog got away.

                Hmm, such a strange story, MoonStrider thought to herself. The images she obtained gave more information than originally intended, telling her about this planet’s eco-structure and that its inhabitants were all made of metal. Even the wildlife. MoonStrider idly mused that if the whole planet was made of a solid metallic substance, and would need a substantial energy source. While MoonStrider’s time outside had been brief, it was long enough to show that this planet’s atmosphere was so heavily comprised of carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide that no reasonable amount of ultraviolet radiation could come through to power the entire planet. The power had to come from an interior source. She’d have to look into that when she actually understood this planet’s languages.

                Her Carrier moved, placing the data pad back and closing the panel. Shifting around, he stood, heading for MoonStrider’s arch enemy. The cradle.

                The silver bars glared into her overdramatic younger mind’s very spark, promising hours- _jours_ \- of nap times to come. She glared right back. No, no nap. MoonStrider doesn’t need no nap. She shifted and looked up to her Carrier. Seajump looked down with a knowing stare.

                “Don’t give me that look, it your nap time; whether you want it to be or not.” MoonStrider didn’t know what he said, but she got the gist of it. Both halves of her mind agreed, and a temporary truce was made. There would be no nap time for MoonStrider.

                She started to struggle, wiggling in her Carrier’s arms. Seajump made a surprised noise as he was wacked in the face plates with a small ped as she rolled in his grip. He held her tighter as she squirmed, careful not to hurt her in any way. A small silver face plate popped out from in-between his arms as she wiggled, slowly falling in-between Carrier’s arm. Upside-down she sunk lower, until just her peds were being held. Victory was close!

                But she didn’t know that Seajump had purposely let her slip down.

                She now hung upside-down against Carrier’s chassis and abdominal plates, her little servos extending downward, trying to desperately grasp the ground. If she had been looking, she would have seen the grin on Carrier’s face plates as he held her there. He started to sway side to side. And MoonStrider knew that she had been played. Her whole frame swayed in the air with her Carrier’s movements. She couldn’t help it as a giggle was let out. The giggles turned to laughter as the swaying increased. She was soon laughing so hard that it was coming out almost like a choking sound as she was practically thrown from side to side. Seajump kept a firm grip on her ped, his servos never once slipping, and MoonStrider’s tripod-like balancer digits helped by grasping tightly to him as well.

                The swaying stopped and MoonStrider was placed on something soft as her laughter died down to pleasant giggles. Her wings wiggled up and down as she burrowed into the soft thing she was placed on. She looked up to see her Carrier’s smiling face plates.

                “Sweet fluxes, little one.” He said down to her before he dimmed the light and turned to walk out. What happened finally sunk into her processor, and MoonStrider’s optics snapped open. She quickly sat up and grabbed at silver rungs, struggling to stand. Finally righting herself she let out an outraged cry as her Carrier disappeared behind the closing door. She growled deep, she had been duped. Tricked! With her own escape plan. Her optics narrowed.

                This meant war.


	4. Chapter 3: Food Makes one Happy

 

                She was a ninja, a warrior of the night. No one could stop her, for she was far to cunning! Great in stealth, she was one to be feared! To be praised! To Be Worshi-!

 

                “And just what do you think you are doing?” MoonStrider froze from her position, she had been caught.

 

                Seajump could barely hold back his bark of laughter as he looked at his creation. She was currently on top of the counter, her servo shoulder joint deep into the sweets jar.  Her golden optics were larger that he thought they could ever go as she looked at him. He raised an optical ridge at her in question.

 

                “So?” He probed. The femmlett’s face plates quickly morphed into a suspiciously innocent one as she twittered at him and pulled out a goody from the jar and held it out to him with a coo. Her other servo was placed in her lap as she leaned to the side slightly and tilted her helm with a pout. Seajump humored her, placing a servo upon his chassis in false flattery.

 

                “Aw, just for me? Why thank you,” he took the sweet from her and popped it into his mouth. A relieved look came across his creation’s face plates as she assumed she was off the hook. He grinned down at the sparkling. He picked her up in one swift motion. “You shouldn’t take without asking, MoonStrider.” Her audios flicked up in alarm. His grin grew in size.

 

                “Thought you were going to get out of this one didn’t you?” A small grumble was all he got in reply as she sunk down into his arms, pouting. Seajump snickered; his creation had such a developed personality.

 

                MoonStrider grumbled, she had wanted that goody. The food this frame could consume fascinated her and she wished to see all of the possibilities. So far she has only had the glowing blue stuff from when she is put in her Carrier’s sparkling hold, which resides within her Carrier’s chassis. The first time she had been in that confined space, her younger half had panicked, pounding on the opening to the hold until a soothing feeling had drifted through the bond and she relaxed. It had been delightfully warm in the hold, the close proximity of the spark next to the hold she was in lulled her into a deep recharge that lasted for several hours- jours.  When she had awaked from her recharge she was groggy and hungry.

 

                She had proceeded to release hunger filled chirps, demanding nourishment as her tanks grumbled. Strange noised came from the metal in front of her as her cries had continued. The strangest thing happened. The metal had separated, splitting into tiny pieces and folding back to reveal several cables. The cables glowed light blue with bits of dark metal coating small strips here and there. MoonStrider had stared with fascination, before some strange instinct had urged her to put one in her mouth. She went with it, hoping that whatever it was could please her hungry tanks. Latching on to one of the surprisingly warm cables, something equally warm had dripped into her awaiting mouth. It tasted strange, but in a good way. Her older mindset had processed it, the taste, the smell, the chemical compounds and all. There were elements inside it that she could not identify and molecules with abnormal amounts of protons and electrons. It was mineral rich, she could clearly taste the iron and titanium alloy hiding among the mix. Her tanks had filled, energy scorched through her as the minerals and chemicals raced to needed spots throughout her developing frame.

 

                That was her first taste of energon.

 

                Ever since then she had tried to sample any edible source of energy she could, digging into cupboards and invading the dispenser. She had quickly found out that her younger frame couldn’t handle a majority of the energon types she had sampled, and caused her tanks to hurt terribly. She had even purged her tanks once after getting into a particularly strong brand of energon. She would later find out that the cube was Vosian high-grade.

 

                After that incident all the cupboards and the dispenser were sparkling proofed. 

 

                Like it would stop her

 

                Her older mindset quickly picked locks and twisted the sparkling proofed caps as her younger mindset paid attention. 

 

                The food wasn’t the only thing she got into.

 

                She had once opened a locked door that lead to an expansive room full of strange but wondrous things. The colors ranged in all different shades and hues that she could barely focus on one at a time. Some things were shiny and large, or dull and small. She could only identify a few things in the room, some blankets and pillows, some sort of cage, some paintings. Everything else was a mystery. Doodads and trinkets, it was all truly amazing. She had crawled further into the room, exploring it to her sparks content. She had later been found by her Carrier wrapped up in one of the blankets.

 

                That blanket was now hers, and she now carried it with her everywhere. It was a dark royal blue and was made of soft organic material. Black tassels were on the edges, framing the whole blanket in a black halo. It was large enough to cover her and her Carrier completely and they both spent many nights curled up under it as her Carrier read stories to her of many sorts. Her favorites were the ones of how Cybertronians came into being.

 

                In the beginning, there were only two, Primus and his brother, Unicron.

 

                The pictures that flowed through the bond were the most vivid of any she would ever see in any other story. Two godly beings; they fought, clashing with an eternal grace that no mortal being could ever possess. Most of the time, swirling energies swirled and also clashed around the deities. It was fascinating to see what her Carrier pictured them as. Primus was put on a pedestal, other worldly goodness illuminating him in a bright halo of light that seemed to draw you in.

 

                MoonStrider would always mentally scoff at this. Her experiences with empowered beings were not her brightest memories. Ones such as Primus, ones held up on that pedestal of divine righteousness, when they were made themselves, by a being far greater, sickened her.  The One that made them was the real power. The One had many names, and she could only name a few. To her, The One was the only thing she would fallow unquestionably, who had her undying faith. So, even though her Carrier’s pictures were entertaining, her opinion of Primus was an unimpressed one.

 

                Her opinion of Unicron was different than her one of Primus, but not by much.

 

                Though she automatically noticed him as an ominous being, she had to reluctantly respect that he didn’t hide his true intentions. Unlike most other empowered beings. He wanted destruction, chaos, and death.

 

                Humph, vile, but he knew what he wanted.

 

                She was startled as she was fully shaken out of her deep thoughts by the presence of her Sire, who just popped out of his office, his optics set on the two. Seajump was pleasantly oblivious, or ignoring, his bond mate’s presence. He just held his creation in his arms and swayed back and forth, hoping to soothe her obviously grumpy mood. Thundergouge approached them. MoonStrider’s optics never left him.

 

                She could sense his unease; he was still deeply troubled by the thievery of his explosive gel a few weeks -orns- ago. The thieves had left no signs or clues to whom had done it, that anyone had done it. There was only one clue, and that clue had been chewed on and exploded.

 

                Thundergouge had nothing to go by. No one knew the codes besides him and his bonded. He attempted to recall those who had ever been in his office with him when opened his vault, a small number came to mind. But all of them were trusted comrades of his, loyal friends he had known for ages. He could only think of four mechs: Cryotek, Wreck-Gar (a well-known Junkion), Clench, and FireRunner. All were mechs that he trusted greatly, and opened his vaults in front of them uncaringly.

 

                Apparently, his trust was misplaced.

 

                He would have to look into all of them, see which one would be most likely to steal his explosive, gel. He didn’t know what would bring one of them to take the gel, and he was very concerned as to what they would do with that gel. The gel was highly explosive when not kept in specific environments. It had to be kept at a constant temperature between 5 and 10 degrees Celsius and contained in a negatively charged container. Without these, the gel would explode, much like it had after MoonStrider had spat out the small amount of the gel.

 

                In the wrong servos, the gel could be lethal, a weapon. Someone could slip it into many places, like someone else’s ration of energon.

 

                Thundergouge shook himself away from those thoughts; he didn’t want to think of the damage it could cause. He looked to his bonded and his creation. He had to protect them, and get the gel back. His optics softened and he was distracted from his thoughts as he looked upon a smiling Seajump and a pouting MoonStrider. Thundergouge could admit, his creation was growing on him greatly. She brought a light into his bonded’s optics that filled his spark and he couldn’t help but smile down at his currently grumpy creation.

 

                “What substance was she trying to stick into her mouth this time?” He rumbled his voice in a low tone, like soft thunder to his namesake. The green and blue mech looked up from his creation and to his dark partner.

 

                “Some sweets from the jar on the counter.” His voice shook with suppressed laughter and Thundergouge couldn’t help but let out his own rumbling laugh. Ever since she first had a taste of energon, his creation had been stuffing her faceplates to the brink.

 

                “Again? I thought you had put sparkling proof caps on all the jars?” Thundergouge questioned gently. His mate gave a sigh.

 

                “Doesn’t seem to stop her even then. She knows how to undo the locks and caps.” Thundergouge hummed at his mate’s confession.

 

                “How smart our creation is, my Love.” Seajump hummed in reply.

 

                MoonStrider had stayed silent during this transaction, opting to listen and decipher their dialect. She could pick out a few words here and there. She chirped softly to get their attention and uncrossed her arms to reach for her Sire, who had never held her before. She saw his hesitate, but her Carrier clicked and engine revved something at him. Hesitant black servos lifted her from her Carriers hold and awkwardly shifted her into her Sire’s. After a moment of adjusting and squirming, MoonStrider settled into her Sire’s arms.      

 

                She pressed an audio receptor to her Sire’s tensed chassis, listening for his spark. A strong thrum greeted her. She listened closely, noting that his spark beat was almost identical to her Carrier’s. Memorizing the thrum of her Sire’s spark, she relaxed in his hold and purred gently, a soothing calm floating in her spark.

 

                Thundergouge stared down at his creation as she settled in his arms; an audio so similar to his mate’s pressed firmly to his chassis. He couldn’t help but study her. How her tiny servos clenched into fists, how her wings drooped towards the floor slowly as she relaxed. She was a pretty thing to look at; proudly he thought that one day she would make a fine bonded for a good mech or femme.

 

                While Thundergouge couldn’t see him, Seajump beamed in happiness. His beloved was finally excepting his creation as his own.

 

                Thundergouge looked up at his mate and smiled sheepishly. He understood that his prejudice for certain frame types shouldn’t extend to his own creations. A faint disappointment still lingered in the back of his processor, but over time, maybe it would fade away.

 

                The creators looked back down at their creation to find that she was fast asleep.

 

                Carrying MoonStrider into her room, Thundergouge swaddled her with the aid of Seajump in her blue blanket. Laying her sown softy in her crib they left.

 

                But Seajump lingered by the door for a moment, he found it odd that MoonStrider didn’t automatically wake up and start struggling to get away or out of the crib, like she usually does. Passing it off as a stroke of luck, Seajump exited the room and shut the door behind him.

 

                Golden optics snapped open.

 

                A muffled thump was heard.

 

                MoonStrider calmly crawled over to the large chair in the corner from where she had landed when she launched herself out of the crib. Climbing up and onto the massive chair, the femmling got comfy.

 

                And pulled out a rather large goodie from her small subspace.

 

                She smirked before chomping down on her delicious bounty.

 

                _A smart one, indeed._

 


	5. Chapter 4: The Crib Wars

** Chapter 4: The Crib Wars **

                MoonStrider peaked around a corner, searching for any sign of her Carrier or Sire. There were none. That was good; it meant she could do this without any complications.

                She quickly crawled out into the hall, staying close to the edge just in case. Her blanket was tied securely around her neck and flowed out a long ways behind her like an oversized cape. She had a plan, a plan to get rid of that dreaded crib. She had it all laid out. She just needed a few tools from the locked room.

                She sat in front of the door around 8 and a half minutes later- which was called a klick on this planet. She had been lucky, and was not caught during the duration of her little trip. She now stared at the door looming above her like a giant. It was easily five times her size. It was silver with black symbols on the panels that retracted into the door frame. She could just barely make out the word “Storage” from the glyphs.

                Crawling closer to the massive door, the silver, black, and blue femmling set her optics on the keypad that locked the shut from her use. She set her servos upon the frame of the door, using it as a balance and something to hold the weight of her frame that her wobbly legs could not. The double set of wing on MoonStrider’s back twitched in anticipation to the sight of her favorite room.

                She pulled at the covering of the keypad, testing the strength of the metal that hid the wires that she needed to get to from the world. Seeing as the metal wouldn’t budge, she looked on the sides until she found the screws that held the metal in place. They were just the right size for her to stick her small digits in. Plunging her pointer digit into the hole, she found the screw and twisted. It came loose and she proceeded to unscrew it until it popped out. She repeated the procedure on the other screws until she had four identical ones in her servo. The metal came off with her touch this time.

 She looked closely at the wiring of the keypad, immediately noting that it had been replaced from the old one. This new keypad was far more complicated, obviously to keep her out.

                MoonStrider grumbled at this, but it didn’t top her. This new lock system would just make it take a bit longer than she had originally planned. But that was all it took sometimes to foil a good plan like hers.

                She cut her grumbling off to focus back on the wires. Reaching up slightly she poked at a few wires, determining the metals used in each: copper, nickel, and cybertronium. The nickel ones were duds, made to throw off those that wished to pick the lock, like she was. The cybertronium ones were highly conductive, and would no doubt give her a good zap if she tried to cut or unplug one. The copper was obviously her best bet.

                There were four copper wires, all different colors. One was red, one was blue and yellow, one was white with grey, and the last one was black. The femmling hummed.

                She knew that the black wire is used for power in all circuits. And that any circuit's black wire should be considered hot or live. The black wire would never be used for a ground or neutral wire and would be used as the power feed for a switch or an outlet. She would never connect that wire, or any other, to the green wire. The green wire indicated the grounding of an electric circuit and is connected to the grounding terminal in an outlet box and runs from the outlet box to the ground bus bar within an electric panel.

                MoonStrider knew that if she connected that green wire to any other wire, other than another green one, she would either permanently damage the system, set the whole thing on fire, or hurt herself. She let out a groan; her Sire just had to get a new keypad, didn’t he? The old one was easy, you just had to tug on the black wire slightly and it unlocked. This one looked like it needed several wires to be intertwined to unlock. Next time she’ll just use some sort of solution to find out which buttons were pressed and try different combinations until it worked. Yeah, that seemed like a much better idea. Why hadn’t she thought of that in the first place?

                She shook her helm; she was getting far too distracted. She concentrated on the wires again.

                The white and gray wire indicated a neutral wire, and was useless to her right now. She just needed to know that, like the green wire, she was not to connect it to any other colors but its own. The yellow and blue wire is also used to carry power and as a traveler for a three-way or four-way switch. The red wire indicates the secondary live wires in a 220-volt circuit, used in some types of switch legs. She could also connect the red wire to the black, which was what she was planning to do.

                Using her sharp digits she carful made and incision into the protective coating of the black and red wires, but only cut half of the tiny thread-like pieces of wire.  Grabbing the frayed ends of the wires she twisted them together, brief sparks shooting out before the flow of electricity righted itself. She then grabbed the yellow and blue wire and gave it the same treatment as the other two. Wrapping it around the connected red and black wires, she twisted them firmly in place. She looked to the little screen on the keypad and saw it go green with a few confirmation glyphs.

                She smiled and purred in triumph as the panels to the door slid back, breaking up the black glyphs on it.

                MoonStrider looked to the interconnected wires in her servos, noticing how they were growing increasingly warm. She then remembered the nickel wires, and how nickel can be used to handle heat and keep the wires from burning. She completely cut one of the nickel wires and then stripped it of its protective casing. She then covered the places where wire was exposed, until all of the copper was hidden. The wires didn’t overheat in her servos again after that.

                Dropping back down into her crawling position she headed for the open door.

                Entering the room, she was immediately greeted by the multitude of exotic items. She smiled at the weird sent that flowed through her olfactory sensors, the sent was distinctly organic. Organic blankets and pillows, paints make from plants, dried up plants, and a few other things indicated where the scent came from. She still couldn’t identify the majority of the things in the room, but she was working on it. There few cybertronian things she could now identify, such as a book case full of data pads, a few scanning drones, and energon cube producer. She hummed in delight as she spotted the items she would need to complete her mission. The older mindset snorted as the younger played its pretend game.

                Grabbing the small wrench and the pint sized paint cans she had spotted; MoonStrider crawled out of the room. Down the halls and past many doors, she came upon her own room. Quickly entering, she set her sights on the monstrosity that had been festering silently for all of her time here.

                The crib

                She **hated** that damned crib.

                She moved closer, slowly, like it would pounce on her if she moved just a bit too fast. She was next to it now, the looming grey bars of her prison standing above her. She raised the wrench….

                CLANG!

                She raised it again

                CLANG!

                And again

                CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

                One of the now disfigured silver colored bars popped out the main frame of the crib, clattering to the floor. Hitting a different one this time, she did the same, until there was enough bars missing for her to slip her developing frame in between the bars. She only needed to grab her pillows and stuffys.

                Afterwards, she would dismantle this hunk of junk.

                A few short clicks later, all of her little comforts were piled up on the chair in the corner. Now the fun part begins.

                Her older mindset moved in sync with her younger one, both intent on one goal. She targeted the bolts holding the small structure together, undoing them and letting them fall to the floor. She tore the crib down, until it was nothing but a pile of metal pipes and some metal sheets. MoonStrider grinned at the sight of her dismantled bedtime prison. Now, time to make it unrecognizable.

                The silver, blue, and black femmling grasped at the paint cans that she had brought with her, opening them to reveal black and green paints. She dipped her right servo into the dark green paint, coating it up to her wrist. With her clean hand, she grasp at a metal leg that once held up her crib.

                She then began to reform her once crib it something else. Like a table.

                Hehe, her creators will never be able to tell.

                The paint was quick to dry, which was good because it meant that she didn’t have to wait to do this. And her younger mindset wasn’t as patient as one would have liked. MoonStrider squeezed bars and runs together with bolts that really were not meant to go together, but with a determination of stubborn sparkling and a whole lot of elbow grease, she got them to hold together. She wedged part of a rung next to another part of her new ‘table’ that was sagging to steady it.

                She was finally done after a jour of hard work. No one had come in to check on her in that time which was a blessing, but MoonStrider scoffed at the older (in frame) beings that were incompetent enough to leave a reincarnated being with the capability to not only sneak her way through the housing unit undetected, but also hot wire a key pad AND reconstruct a crib into a table. Pff, these metal beings she called her creators were seriously underestimating her, it was kind of insulting really. Did they not know that she was capable of things other than drooling and eating? Did they even know?

                Now that she thought about it, she didn’t believe that the metal man that had helped her into this new world had said anything on the matter. Her memory banks remembered what the metal man had said, though at the time she really didn’t know what was being said. But now that she understood the basics of their strange phone dial and clicky language, she could tell that he had not said a thing on the matter.

                Strange that he would withhold the information from her creators. Or did he not know, too? No, she had seen the look in his optics; he knew very well what she is. So why not tell her creators?

                The questions swirled around her processor, distracting her. In fact, it distracted her so much that she didn’t hear the door open.

                “MOONSTRIDER!”

                Oops

 


	6. Chapter 5: Special Doctor Visits

** Chapter 5: Special Doctor Visits **

                MoonStrider was grounded.

                All because she tore down that piece-of-scrap crib

                Very unfair in the silver femmling’s opinion

                MoonStrider huffed as she sat in the corner of the main living area of her and her creators housing unit. She had been put there after a mean scolding from both of her creators, which she could basically translate out to “Bad MoonStrider, little bots are not supposed to vandalize their cribs”. Well it WAS her crib, so shouldn’t she be able to do anything with it. Perhaps take a blow torch to it? That would be fun. Though MoonStrider theorized that her creators would have her processor checked if they saw her do that, and MoonStrider could tell that she would be laughing and grinning during it all. That most defiantly would not be the best course of action.

                But a femmling can dream, cant she?

                She grumbled once again facing the corner, her oversized wings twitching in agitation. Her Carrier was sitting on a couch in the middle of the room, reading over a data pad. Her Sire had one arm swung around the back of the couch, his digits brushing over the shoulder of his mate.

                They were having a conversation over the bond. And by their worried looks, it was more than likely about her.

                MoonStrider was not wrong in her assumption; her creators were indeed talking about her over their spark bond. They were very worried and slightly frightened by their sparklings advanced intelligence. Could it be that she had data prematurely downloaded into her processor while they were not looking? No, that would have symptoms as a sparklings processor is fairly underdeveloped in its first vorns, and their little MoonStrider was barely a half a vorn old. She was already speaking slightly, she could navigate easily through their home, and she HOTWIRED A KEY PAD AND REBULT HER CRIB INTO A TABLE! No normal sparkling could do this! So how could theirs?!?

                The questions were being thrown back and forth through their bond as quick as they could think of them, and more were being added to the list by the click. They needed answers, but they didn’t know who to go to. A medic perhaps? Or a processor specialist? They had to be careful who they picked, too. Some bots were not to be trusted in this universe, medics and specialists where not exempted from that list.

                They then remembered one bot they could trust to get answers from, a medic by the name of Drillbit. The medic had been a family friend for millennia, and he even helped bring their precious femmling into the universe.

                Drillbit was a former construction bot, but had worked his way into a medical school in his cast, he then bonded to another mech of the actual medical cast of Cybertron and was able to fulfill his training and become a certified medic. It was when Thundergouge had made a shipment of hard to obtain medical supplies to the clinic that Drillbit worked in that they had meant. Thundergouge had not been bonded to Seajump then and had often gained relationship advice from Drillbit during his courtship to his future bandmate.

                Seajump met Drillbit through Thundergouge, and later found out from a sheepish Thundergouge that Drillbit had been the magician behind their prosperous relationship. Seajump had laughed and thanked Drillbit for aiding his ill-affectionate bondmate. They had then met Drillbits’ bondmate later on at a restaurant; the mech’s name was Hydrogear.

                Hydrogear was born into the medical class on Cybertron. He had met Drillbit when the former construction bot had been trying to apply for an apprenticeship at a medical clinic that he was visiting. The poor mech couldn’t even get through the doors without someone calling the Enforcers. He would have been carted away if it wasn’t for Hydrogear’s intervention. Hydrogear had told the Enforcers that Drillbit was with him and that he was permitted to be there. The Enforcers had backed off and Hydrogear and Drillbit were on their first date not an orn later.

                Seajump suggested that they go see Drillbit on the next cycle, Thundergouge agreed.

 

                The next cycle was strange in MoonStrider’s opinion, it was very busy with her creators running around the housing unit picking up things here and there and placing them in a bag by the front door. The sliver femmling had taken a peek into the bag to see what was inside, what was in it made her raise her optical ridges. It was the robot equivalent of a dipper bag. Some small toys of hers, a few energon treats were in a small clear baggy, her favorite stuffy, and her blanket was what her creators had placed into the bag. She pulled the blanket out of the bag and wrapped it around herself as she waited by the door for her creators, not really in the mood to hide from them, and besides the time that her creators had carried her here, she had not been outside. She was very curious as to what the outdoor world held that she had not seen in her first little trip from the clinic to her home.

                “Oh! There you are!” MoonStrider looked out of her cocoon of blanket to see her Carrier standing there. “Well aren’t you a good little femme, waiting for us by the door.” MoonStrider chirped in response to her Carrier’s praise and lifted her arms towards him. Seajump lifted his creation and her prized blanket up from the cool floor into his warm embrace. He cooed down at her, bopping a single digit onto her olfactory sensor. MoonStrider made a startled noise before trying to grab at the offending digit, she swatted at it a few times, her slightly sharp digits scrapping at the finish of her Carrier’s paint. Her Sire then appeared at the end of the hallway coming towards them. He smiled at his mate before asking if they were ready to go and he received a positive response.

                MoonStrider waited patiently for her creators to taker her outside. Her Sire grabbed the bag as her Carrier continued to hold her close to his chassis. The door opened and they all stepped out. Orderly chaos is what greeted them, and noise, lots and lots of noise. Bots were walking and running and driving to and fro, venders and their stands called out to bots, telling them that they would find no better anywhere else. Light posts were dim, shedding unneeded light on the beings traveling under them; it was in the middle of the cycle after all. Outdoor restaurants housed bots meeting for business or bots just having a get together. Helper drones darted in between legs and frames to tend to their master’s needs, and some even hovered over their helms.

                MoonStrider chirped and clicked in happiness at the new sights, her housing unit was rather boring after a while. She poked her whole helm out of the blankets and chirped at passerbyers. Some smiled, others looked at in her with resentful optics, but she couldn’t tell why. MoonStrider felt herself be pulled closer to her Carrier’s chassis, one of his blue-green servos coming to rest on her head as if to hide her from the harsh glares. She looked around and noticed a lot of glares being directed towards her creators, many of them had wheels on their frames.

                She hummed. Even in an advanced species of robots still had prejudice, maybe they aren’t so advanced as she had thought.  MoonStrider decided to think upon the matter later, instead focusing on all of the new sights and sounds and smells that were laid out before her. Humming once more to a tune she couldn’t identify, MoonStrider pulled back her Carrier’s servo and looked out again.

                There were other younglings, besides her, out on the streets. They all looked older than her current frame was, walking and chatting to other little mechs and femmes. She did note with a proud huff, that the majority of the younglings were smaller than her, and that even her creators towered over the majority of the older mechs and femmes wandering the streets. She also noted that the ratio of mechs to femmes was about twelve-to-one, older frames and sparklings alike. It was strange, where were all of the femmes?

                Before she could find answer that question, her creators stopped. They were at the clinic.

                Seajump looked up at the clinic that he knew housed Drillbit. He was worried, what if it was worse that he thought it was? What if his little sparkling had some permanent, life changing ailment that could hinder her forever? Seajump’s vents were going on full blast trying to cool his overheating processor. Thundergouge held his mate close to him, attempting to console him before that gained their answers. After a moment to regain his bearings, Seajump nodded to his bond mate and they both walked into the clinic.

 

                Drillbit was surprised to see them. The crimson and yellow mech had walked closer to the small family unit and started up a pleasant conversation; and when Seajump asked him to look over their sparkling, he took them to a back room.

                “Now, tell me what you’ve noticed.” Drillbit ordered the creators of the femmling that he was currently checking over. Thundergouge spoke up first.

                “Advanced intelligence. She was able to do many things that regular sparklings are just not able to do.” Drillbit looked to him to continue. “She hotwired an advanced keypad more than once and she dismantled her crib then reconstructed it into a table.” Drillbit looked down to the small femmling that sat on his examination table. Already she was showing these signs that confirmed his assumption of her creation. A reincarnation.

                Drillbit had not mentioned it to her creators yet for fear of him being wrong, and he didn’t wish to tell his dear friends that their creation was a reincarnated being without being certain. But he was almost completely sure that she was, there was just one more thing to do.

                Drillbit leaned down, gazing into the sparklings golden optics with curiosity. She looked back with different layers of amusement. He could see it, in her optics, the knowledge and memories swirling around in exotic patterns and rhythms.

                “Can you understand me?” the femme nodded as her creators watched in fascination and growing anxiousness. Why was he asking these things? How could she understand him when she was so young?! Drillbit ignored them and continued. “Do you know what I think you are?” The femme smiled and nodded again, her creators looking even more distressed. “Am I correct in my assumption?” MoonStrider was grinning up at him, oh yes, he understood. She nodded and Drillbit pulled in a breath of unneeded air.

                He was correct. She was, in fact, a reincarnation, but of whom? He asked MoonStrider vague questions that only she would understand, with her creators growing more distressed by the click as they stared at Drillbit’s concentrated face plates and their creation’s grinning one. Seajump just couldn’t take it anymore.

                “Drillbit,” he walked forward as his voice turned pleading. “I beg of you, tell me…. What is ailing my creation?” The said mech looked up at the calling of his name, his face plates baring no secrets.

                “Your sparkling is a reincarnation.”


	7. Chapter 6: Musical Crystals

** Chapter 6: Musical Crystals **

                Seajump couldn’t wrap his processor around it; his little one was a resparked being. All of those things that she had done were all signs that he should have seen before now. But he hadn’t. He had assumed it was normal, sparkling growth. He had never had a sparkling before, so how could he have known?

                “Seajump,” His helm raised at the mention of his name, it was Thundergouge. They had left the clinic not too long ago, and were now just walking aimlessly down the street, both not willing to go home just yet. Seajump leaned his weight against his mate, exhausted after all of the information that had been piled upon him earlier.

                Earlier that cycle, just after the revelation that their creation was a reincarnate, Drillbit loaded them with information on how to monitor MoonStrider’s growth and mental development. They had to watch for signs of overgrowth, which was when the frame developed too quickly and parts got left behind. Both creators where weary that one part of their creation would grow while the rest remained in its sparkling stages. Helm aches could become frequent, as her undeveloped processor would try to analyze the information that was already in her processor before it could truly handle it. The medic reassured the creators that it would not harm their creation and that the aches would go away after all of the extra information was filtered.

Drillbit had also recommended finding something for MoonStrider to do, a hobby that she could immerse herself in whenever the aches got bad. The distraction would lessen the pain.

                Speaking of MoonStrider, she was still nestled into her Carrier’s arms, content with observing her surroundings. Her golden optics swiveled here to there and back, taking in her new planet. It wasn’t enough though; she wished to see more and loudly broadcasted that desire over her bonds with her creators. Both cr3eators chuckled and set off towards the nearest park, happy for the distraction. MoonStrider bounced where she was being held, her younger mindset taking over completely.

                The park was different than the ones she had seen, first off, there was no grass or trees; instead there was strange crystalline spires that shot out of the ground. They were all different, the colors ranged all across the spectrum as did the sizes. But what really astounded MoonStrider were not the impressive sizes or colors, it was the sounds that came from them.

                The humming, whispers of notes that caressed her sensitive audios in several different registers made her close her optics just to listen. It was like a symphony. She relaxed greatly, going limp in her Carrier’s arms. A soft chuckle was heard above her.

                “She seems to enjoy the crystals.” Thundergouge spoke, wrapping his arm around his mate’s shoulders. Seajump hummed, looking not much different from the femmling he was holding in his arms. Thundergouge couldn’t hear it; his audios were not as sensitive as Seajump’s and MoonStrider’s.

                The family walked through the crystal park, Thundergouge having to lead his mate so he wouldn’t crash into anything in his dazed state. Thundergouge found a nice spot by a set of light blue and pink crystals that both his mate and creation seemed to enjoy. Pulling his mate down beside him, Thundergouge sat with his back against a large crystal.

                MoonStrider opened her optics and gazed around before looking up to her creators and smiling. She chirred and clicked up at them in happiness as she wiggled in her blanket. Reaching up with small servos, MoonStrider placed them onto her Carrier’s face places, feeling the smooth, light blue plating. It was pretty contrast to her Carrier’s greenish blue armor. Her Carrier’s green optics stared down at her in a pleasant haze.

                She twisted and turned in her confinement of blanket, opting to get out and explore the new sights around her. Her Carrier chuckled and untangled her from the royal blue blanket to set her on the ground. MoonStrider wiggled away from her Carrier’s grasp as she was set onto the ground.

                She was rather fast moving for a sparkling who couldn’t walk just yet. One would be surprised on just how far MoonStrider could go on her servos and knees. She moved across the metallic ground towards a set of crystals that shown a pretty incandescence white and blue color that seemed to hum in multiple registers, a low C chord to be precise. The harmonics to the chord caressed her audios as they all overlaid and produced the thrilling harmony. MoonStrider moved even closer to the small group of crystals, just to bring her servo to rest upon the largest there. Her servo tingled, the deep thrumming chord sending vibrations up her arm. She scooted close, opting to press her chassis to the pretty crystals. Her whole frame vibrated, her audios twitching as they tingled with the sounds and the vibrations echoing up from her chassis. She hummed in content, pushing her whole frame against the blue and white crystal and resting one small cheek against its side.

                She liked this crystal.

                MoonStrider laid next to the lowly humming crystal for quite a while, slowly picking out the other notes that were in harmony to the C. She could just hear the E and the G alongside the powerfully low C. The silver femmling started to hum with the sound, providing a soothing melody to the constant accompaniment produced from the crystals.

                She had forgotten how much she loved music.

                MoonStrider was a musical enthusiast in her past life. Music had provided her with a gentle peace that would last until the last phrase of a song. She had mastered several instruments in her past life, having the excess time to do so without distraction. She always preferred the piano and the guitar, the piano a bit more so. Perhaps here she could learn a few more instruments; this planet was bound to have some very interesting instruments in its care.

                A thumping of peds interrupted her daydreaming and reminiscing.

                An old grounder mech came into view.

                Gold and red were his colors with pretty blue optics that shown with a deep fire that smoldered with passion. Oh, this was a good mech, she could feel it. During this time, MoonStrider had not ceased her humming melody, and by the tilt of the mechs helm, he had heard it. A warm smiled was cast upon her from the senior mech before her. He moved slightly before sitting down far enough to not be considered a threat, but close enough that he could reach out and touch one of her smooth silver wings. MoonStrider watched the mech with curiosity, wondering what he would do next. She could tell that by the way he moved, that he meant her no harm. The two studied each other for just a moment longer, before the mech did something unexpected.

                He started to hum.

                Perfectly matching her gentle melody

                This act shocked her so much that she almost stopped humming herself. It took her a moment before she realized exactly what had happened. The mech had been listening to her repeated melody, memorizing it before he had joined her; sneaky mech. He grinned down at her, as if he had read her thoughts and was showing his amusement. Just to spite him, she changed her tune. And after a quick hiccup in her melody, he evened out and joined her. Once again she changed a piece of it, twisting a slower part of her melody into a faster pace set of sixteenth notes that ranged over the C chord. But instead of fallowing her, this time he changed the melody himself, turning her altered part into a series of half notes that built up behind her sixteenth notes. His rich alto-tenor voice enriched the low notes of the accompaniment of crystals and her higher sparkling melody.

                Their little exchange continued for a while, about a jour really; neither seemed to tire of it.

                A little ways away, just around a corner of crystals sat Seajump and Thundergouge. They were both standing and stretching, a beautiful peace settled into their sparks after a long stressful cycle. They could both feel the calm happiness of their creation through their bond, and both were not too worried about her. They then turned the corner to see their sparkling, and Seajump almost had a spark attack. A mech was sitting with their creation, both were humming and swaying and patting the ground, making a rhythm that only they seemed to get. They both had never even known that a mech was sitting with their creation for however long and that slightly startled them. Surly, their sparkling would have felt in some way uncomfortable about an unknown mech being in such close proximity. Both then remembered that their femme creation wasn’t entirely normal an clamed slightly.

                Then they finally recognized exactly WHOM that their creation was sitting with. Thundergouge had to hold tightly to Seajump’s arm to calm him down.  Thundergouge produced a low greeting rumble from his vocals, similar to one clearing their throats. The gold and red mech looked up at the bonded couple and smiled. Standing up slowly, the mech gathered a happy MoonStrider into his arms. Gently the mech passed the sparkling over to a tense Seajump. MoonStrider twittered up to the mech, the gold and red mech being taller that her creators. He smiled and brushed a lone digit over her helm and audios. He then looked to her creators.

                “You have a very gifted femme, not many can keep such a melody going.” His voice was just as rich as when he was singing and MoonStrider couldn’t help but twitter up at him once again, she liked this mech. “You should look to invest in some music lessons for her, she is quite gifted  in the musical field.”

                “Thank you for your input, we will be sure to do so.” Thundergouge tightly smiled at the gold and red mech. The mech smiled in return before turning and bending over to grasp at the large crystal that MoonStrider had previously been leaning on. Gently he pulled up the crystal, careful not to disturb or uproot the others. He then turned with the crystal in servo and faced the small family once again.

                “Here,” He handed the large crystal to Thundergouge who accepted the gift with surprise. He looked down to MoonStrider as he spoke his next words, “She is rather fond of the Vosian crystals.” He once more rubbed a tender servo over MoonStrider’s helm before turning to leave. “Good cycle, Thundergouge.”

                “Good cycle, Sentinel Prime.”

 


	8. Chapter 7: Dreams of the Past

** Chapter 7: Dreams of the past **

                MoonStrider was carried home after her encounter with the nice gold and red mech that her creators identified as Sentinel Prime. She was curious as to why her creators were so jittery in his presence. He had also known her Sire’s name, and that seemed to make him even jitterier.

                MoonStrider reached for the crystal that had been given to her, which was still being tightly clutched in her Sire’s servo. She chittered angrily when he didn’t seem to notice her desire. Thundergouge finally took notice of his creations desire to hold her crystal. But it was a bit too large for her to safely hold.

                “Hand it here,” Seajump suggested, seeing the exchange and feeling his mate’s hesitation. Thundergouge was quick to hand over the crystal, not wishing to have a screaming sparkling on his and his mate’s servos. MoonStrider purred as she curled closer to her crystal, wings and audios twitching all the while.  She was quite happy now.

                Slowly, the tired creators toted their creation sluggishly to their housing unit, both yearning to go straight to recharge as soon as they stepped ped into their home. MoonStrider seemed to tire as well, her wings drooping as she snuggled her crystal. After what seemed to be a long time, the family reached their home. Going through the main greeting room after entering, Seajump made a bee line for MoonStrider’s room while Thundergouge went to a storage room for supplies to sustain the crystal that they had brought home with them. Some soft, rich, metallic dirt and a pretty blue pot with white swirls was in Thundergouge’s servos when he entered his creation’s room.

                A makeshift berth was where MoonStrider’s former crib had once resided, it would be there until he was able to go and get a suitable berth for his sparkling, one she approved of. Thundergouge did want to go through the trouble of getting a berth just to have a repeat of the crib incident. Instead, he opted to wait for a good time to take his creation to go and pick out her own suitable resting place.

                MoonStrider rested easily upon her temporary berth, tracing the white veins that traveled over the blue crystal in her grip. Carrier trailed his claw tips over her wings gently, lulling her into a gentle daze, just on the verge of recharge. She was quite happy now that she didn’t have to sleep in that terrible, vile crib. She was now laying happily upon soft cushions and metal sheets that rested on the ground where her old crib used to be. The sound of the door to her room opening shook her and Carrier out of their dazes as they turned to look at who was entering. Sire was standing there with some sort of dirt in a bag in one servo while in the other he held a medium sized blue pot with pretty white swirls on it. Sire strode over to the berth and sat next to Carrier; he then pulled out some of the strange dirt and placed it into the pot. He then grabbed her crystal, earning himself an outraged cry.

                How dare he take her crystal! It was hers! She struggled to regain her stolen position, but Carrier held her back. Sire then placed her crystal into the pot and poured more of the strange dirt into it and patting it down firmly, locking the crystal into its upright position. She watched and took note that her crystal seemed to glow just a bit brighter now that it had been planted into the pot. MoonStrider ceased her struggles.

                Thundergouge made sure to put the planted crystal right next to his creations’ berth, earning himself a purr and smile from her. Gaining a kiss from each creator on her helm, MoonStrider snuggled into her blankets and stuffies. Her creators then exited the room, leaving her in alone with nothing but the gentle glow from her crystal as light. She settled down and fell into a deep recharge.

                Full of dreams

 

                The planet was green and brown, but deep blue water flowed in abundance. Plants with cells and animals with fur, soft dirt and hard rock covered where the water did not. The planet was young, but always changing. Nothing stayed the same for long; the planets’ atmosphere wouldn’t allow that. Volcanos filled with molten rocks and caves filled with stalagmites and stalactites and precious crystals and gems. Springs of acid or water, rivers with rich beds and filled with scaly organics with slippery fins and gooey gills. Forests of tall trees with think canopies that housed winged organics with beady eyes, and shaded the ones with fur and teeth that prowled around the thick foliage for their next source of prey.

She was one of four. They were unreal, freakish even, to the inhabitance of this ever changing planet. The dominant species of this planet were short –lived, bi-footed beings with two eyes and four limbs. Such a young species they were, so naive and destructive in their ways. They feared her and the others, terrified of how they appeared and what they could do. And she couldn’t blame them.

They were larger than them, stronger than them. They were organic, but soft and squishy in places, while other places were scaly and hard. Long fur or leathery wings, horns or barbed tail, they were monsters of legend. They wielded the powers of their gifted cores and could level cities with just a thought. They were the only ones of their kind ever to live; even if they barred children, they would not suffer the same way as their creators did.

For they were unable to die

Years and years passed by them, each growing duller, darker. Every attempt on their life was gifted with a stronger core, faster healing wounds, and harder and harder to control gifts given to them by unmerciful empowered ones. They were toys to beings they couldn’t even see, a sideshow that gave them twisted amusement with each agonizing year.

Insanity consumed two of their number, the agony of forever barring too much of a load for them to bear. They tore into the world, leveling mountains, cities, and forests in their insanity filed rage. Blood covered the world, tainting the water and filling the air with its pungent stench as organics died in the chaos. And it was with a heavy soul, that she and her other companion were forced to overpower them, and trap them within the planets’ core, never to roam the surface ever again.

She and her companion roamed for centuries, avoiding the bi-footed organics like the plague. Eventually they too, faded into legend and lore.

The planet changed around them, the bi-footed ones growing smarter and creating machines and buildings that seemed to scrape the stars. The air grew thick with impurities and the water became unclean. Plants and animals evolved or died out as the world changed. The machines grew more advanced, they flew through the air or rolled across the ground or floated in the water. The bi-footed ones aged longer, their medicine was keeping them longer and longer alive. Weapons grew more deadly, bombs and guns and lasers that could kill millions in one shot.

Soon the bi-footed ones touched the stars, riding up in machines that roared with fire and stank of burning fuel. Their reach extended past their solo Moon to touch planets even out of their system, they mined resources and created advanced ships to take them across the cosmos. They even met off-worlders.

The bi-footed ones advanced as their world died around them, her and her companion could only watch as they tore their world apart. Slowly, the bi-footed ones killed their planet, more and more plants and organic animals dying out by the year. The once green, blue, and brown planet became dull and grey and toxic. Cities were covered in domes of glass and shields of energy to entrap the purified air they needed.

She and her companion became immune to the toxicity of the air and water through one of their “gifts”. But they weren’t doing well; their minds were old and weary, filled with pain and depression. All they wanted to do was to die. But they couldn’t, after everything, they still were not granted peace. Their minds and cores churned in despair and angst. Their forever was a curse.

The bi-footed ones found them. Arrogant in their ways and making a grave mistake in assuming them not sentient, the bi-footed ones attempted to capture them. Weapons and chains and muzzles were brought forth as they tried to coax them out of the cave they had inhabited for centuries. When their coaxing did not prove effective, they attempted force. Cages with electrical bars and whips with barbed edges, some bi-foots protested their capture, they argued that she and her companion should be left in peace. Those bi-foots were quickly shushed with massive amounts of their currency. They continued their attempt at capture.

Their scarred and old minds were filled with depression and despair, depression and despair turned to anger and frustration, anger and frustration turned to rage and hatred. Bi-foots were easy to kill, small organics made of liquid and flesh and crunchy centers. Their massive feet and paws crushed, their sharp claws and long talons slashed and separated, their teeth and bill chomped and chewed. They killed them all.

Their minds were too fogged with rage, hatred poring off of them with each bellow from their monstrous mouths. Her mouth spouted waves of Hell fire, her wings conducting the powerful fire from the clouds that zapped her foes into a crisp, and her feet brought up mountains, her fanned tail brought the wind, and the water of the sea came crashing with her mind. Fur and scale and feathers were drenched with reddened mud and gore.

They didn’t stop with there; they traveled to the cities and the homes and the towns. Destruction, chaos, and bodies were all they left. Blood and gore and bodies lay everywhere, in the streets, in the rivers, in the ruble of buildings and homes. They were worse than their trapped companions, they were stronger, and they were far more powerful.

Her companion could kill with her mind, a single thought killing hundreds of the bi-foots. And she could kill with her body, commanding the matter surrounding her to do her bidding. Red stained the ground and water and even the sky, until they were all that was left.

The fog had left, leaving them with what they had done. They had screeched and cried and sobbed to the heavens for release, and end to their existence. Nothing but the sound of laughter on the wind was give. The rage came back; the empowered ones had reared their ugly heads again, and she and her companion finally understood what had happened. This horrific thing they had done was not their doing. The murderous rage and hatred of the empowered ones grew, **THEY** had forced them to do this, _and they had twisted their minds and cores for their own amusement once again._

And they screamed and roared at the sky in blinding, all-consuming hatred of the ones who had done this to them.


	9. Chapter 8: I.L.C.G.

** Chapter 8: I.L.C.G **

Seajump held the servo of his now 38 vorn old sparkling, well, she wasn’t really a sparkling anymore per say. MoonStrider was now a youngling, fully capable to walk and talk on her own, with a bit of difficulty. The femmling was having a bit of trouble grasping the strange language that her Carrier and Sire spoke in, but was getting a better with hers and Carrier’s lessons. She could talk in semi-coherent sentences now.

She had started attempting to walk early on about a vorn after her creators found out about her being a reincarnation. She was determined not to remain immobile and having her creators carry her around every time they ventured outside of their home. It had started off bad, her being unable to balance on the tripod like foot of hers. She had fallen many times, scuffing her knees and chipping her paint. But after a while, she was able to stand fully on her own without wobbling. She could now run, jump, walk, and pretty much anything else that requires of two peds moving back and forth.

Seajump lightly swung his creations arm back and forth as they walked; humming a tune that MoonStrider was harmonizing with. A fast passed, energetic song was being blared back and forth over their bond. It was a strange little game that they played with one another. They would start out with a single string of a song and would pass it back and forth, and each time it was passed they would add a string to it. They passed it back and forth until they both agreed to stop adding in and just sing it back and forth. MoonStrider loved to try and harmonize with her Carrier. She could easily hit the notes that Seajump’s low tenor couldn’t.

Another thing was MoonStrider’s participation in music. Seajump and Thundergouge had taken the Prime’s advice and put MoonStrider into music as soon as they could. Lessons for many different instruments took place every orn. She already knew a good variety of the others (knowledge from her past life, no doubt). MoonStrider was currently was taking lessons to learn a set of percussion instruments that were imported from Kaon. The drum set was massive and demonic in appearance, but the sound… Oh, the sounds made MoonStrider practically _swoon_ in bliss. The drums were large and deep, and created a sound that matched. When hit correctly, the drums made a noise that rocked straight into her very spark.

MoonStrider was also working on two string instruments that came from Tarn. One looked like an advanced harp, while the other was simply a violin. It was her favorite instrument, par only to an electric piano imported from Helix. It was a dark copper color and the boa was black, but the cool thing about her cyber violin was that, when she played, the strings started to glow in different colors. MoonStrider was quite shocked when she had first witnessed the strings glowing, but her Sire had jumped in and explained that in Helix, it was all about the lights. The last instrument she was learning was a very strange brass instrument that needed air and vibrations to play. She just had to compare it to a trumpet, just with extra piston valves. Instead of having three like a normal trumpet, this one had six. It wasn’t too difficult to play; it was just that the fingerings were weird and bent her digits in weird angles.

Back to the present time, her Carrier was leading her to a tall, brightly colored building. She was going to school. Usually younglings her age would not go to school; opting to wait till they were around fifty vorns old and their processor were fully developed. But she was ready, more than ready actually, to go to this cyber school. And her creators knew that. She was excelling in everything her creators could throw at her, her younger mindset soaking up everything like a sponge in water. So after a lot of debating, both creators agreed that sending her to school was the best option.

“Carrrierr,” MoonStrider halted their game to call up to him. The way she spoke was quite adorable in Seajump’s opinion, her vowels always being over done while her r’s came out like purrs. “How much longerr until we arre therre?” MoonStrider bounced up and down next to her Carrier, eager to go and learn more about this strange planet.

Her Carrier chuckled. “We are almost there.” MoonStrider squealed and attempted to pull her Carrier faster towards the learning center. Seajump just smiled and fastened his pace to keep up with his bouncing like femmling. Finley, after seeming like forever to her, MoonStrider and her Carrier reached the learning center.

There, in big bold, golden glyphs read **“I acon’s Learning Center for the Gifted**”

MoonStrider stared at the glyphs she was just able to make out. Gifted? What was that supposed to mean? MoonStrider looked up confusedly at her Carrier, who in return sighed and looked down at her.

“I am sorry, darling. But they would not accept you into the regular classes; we had to settle for one of the ‘special’ classes.” Seajump hoped she would understand. MoonStrider smiled up at her Carrier, feeling his frustration and sadness through the bond.

“It’s okay, Carrrierr.”  She purred and rubbed her helm against her Carrier’s leg. Seajump smiled and the two proceeded into the building. Seajump checked her in and they walked to her class.

“You nervous?” Seajump looked down to his femmling as they stopped in front of her class. MoonStrider beamed up at her Carrier and shook her helm in the negative. “Ok then, here gives me kissies.” Seajump bent at the knees and scooped up his sparkling in an embrace, they exchanged quick comforting kisses on each other’s cheeks. “Go on now.” Seajump slightly nudged his creation in the back. MoonStrider moved away from her creator, and approached the door. With a quick knock, the door opened.

MoonStrider entered into a noise filled room. Younglings older-but still shorter- than her ran and bounced around the room. A gentle looking, adult femme sat at a desk looking over a few data pads. And that is where she headed.

“Excuse me?” MoonStrider called. The femme looked over and straight into MoonStrider’s golden optics with her blue ones.

“Can I help you little one?” She questioned, her voice was high and airy, and her optics were slightly glazed.

“I am new.”

“Oh! You are the new bot that is in my class!” _obviously._ MoonStrider was getting the impression that not just the students were special here. But the glaze in her optics finally seemed to leave and the femme came back to her senses.

“Okay, little ones! Time to settle down and start this cycle of learning!” She then looked down to MoonStrider. “You can go and sit next to Silverstar in the empty seat in the middle row.” MoonStrider nodded and went to take her seat.

Silverstar was a femme, like her, but she was a flyer. MoonStrider was a seeker. Silverstar’s coloring consisted of a black base color with streaks of a shiny silver color that crossed over her armor like shooting stars in the night sky. Well, at least she knew her namesake. She had a deep scowl on her face plates that only seemed to deepen as she approached. Yellow optics stared into gold as she took her seat. Silverstar huffed and turned her helm back to the teacher. MoonStrider felt a smirk tug on her lips, but she too, turned to the teacher.

“Okay, little bots! This cycle we shall spend learning about _each other.”_ She spoke slowly, like they couldn’t understand her, MoonStrider scoffed. This femme, she assumed that they were all simpletons! MoonStrider calmed herself, she doesn’t know these other bots, maybe some of them are simple minded. “Okay now,” This femme really needed to stop saying ‘okay’ it was diminishing her speech and making it seem like she didn’t know what the pit she was doing. “We are going to introduce ourselves and tell each other our designations, our age, and one thing special about ourselves!” Not too difficult, and a great way to get to know her fellow classmates. “Let’s start with the first row, shall we?” The femme-bot pointed to a mech in the first row to come up.

A small mech walked up to the front of the class. He was black with red and dark blue linings around the edges of his armor. He had a thick pair of wings resting at a strange angle on his back that seemed to bob to a beat that only he could hear.

“Hello, I’m Mixtape!” His voice was choppy, like someone was mixing voice bites together and forgot to smooth it out. “I am 56 vorns old and my special thing is that I can imitate anyone’s voice.” Just to prove himself, he changed his voice to sound that of our femme teacher halfway through his speech. Everyone ‘oh’d and ‘ah’d over his little performance while clapping. MoonStrider just clapped, smiling slightly. The black femme next to her just grunted while continuing to scowling at everything around her. The next bot went up as Mixtape sat down.

It was a femme flyer, with a soft white base color and a powdery light blue faceplates, servos and peds. Dark blue lined her hips and shoulders as well as the tracing swirls around her wings. A rather pretty femme, in MoonStrider’s opinion, the blue faceplates really made her optics pop.

“Hi everybot! My name is Snowstorm.” Huh, fits her like a glove. “I am 54 vorns old and my special thing is that I can freeze things!” Extending her powder blue servos, the pretty femme let ice coat her digits in little icicles. She continued to let the ice grow, covering her servo, up her arm, to encompass her entire arm to her shoulder in a thin layer of ice crystals. Everyone clapped, except Silverstar. MoonStrider grinned to the side that she sat on, amused greatly.  The next bot went up as the pretty femme sat.

MoonStrider had to do a double take on this femme. Horns, bat-like wings, claws, and a long tail with bladed edges was what greeted her wide golden optics. _What in the name of The One…_ … She stood there in purple colored armor with black trimming on the edge of her platelets. She had the strangest optics; they were red with blue irises. And when she opened her mouth to speak she could clearly see rows and rows of sharp denta.

“Hi, my designation is Plumeria,” her voice was slightly lower than a normal femmling’s, growls and purrs accenting some syllables. “I am 61 vorns old and I am special because I am a predaling. And I got wings and a tail and I got horns and claws and I can fly and breathe fire and…” Plumeria kept on with her longly worded description of her traits. The femme teacher shooed Plumeria off and waved the first bot of the second row to come forth.

The teacher seemed wary of this one, edging around her and moving slightly farther away. MoonStrider raised an optical ridge in curiosity, what was so bad about this femmling? Truly this tiny white femme was not such a threat? Tiny she was, if MoonStrider stood she wouldn’t even come to her hip. Low hanging wings and large blue optics that seemed permanently glazed over… like the teacher’s had been previously. Curios…

“Hi there…” Her voice was airy and light like she wasn’t even paying real attention and was off in her own little world. “My name is… Daydream and…” She sighed frequently in her introduction MoonStrider noted. “I am 49 vorns old and… I’m special.” She seemed just to stand there, as if she was finished with her introduction. And apparently she was, as she just sat right back down after that. The teacher seemed to just stutter for a moment before calling the next bot up.

A quiet snicker was heard next to her on the side that Silverstar did not sit on. MoonStrider turned her helm in surprise, not having recalled a bot siting on her opposite side. Sitting there was yet another femme. This one was big, almost as tall as her kind of big. MoonStrider had grown over the past vorns; she was now a whopping 14 feet tall (not including her antenna’s reaches). This femme-if standing- could have reached her chin. She was red with blue accents, even silver could been seen flashing under bits of her armor. A silver face was hidden behind a black servo, laughter filled blue optics peeked over. The red femme leaned closer to MoonStrider and whispered into her sensitive audios.

“Daydweam has the power that makes oda’ bots see what sheh’ wants dem to, like daydweams. But sheh’ can also make dem see not nice t’ings. Dat’s why de femme-lady don’t like her much. Daydweam did it to her.” MoonStrider’s lips curled at the edges, at both what this femme had said and how she said it. MoonStrider and the femme next to her focused back to the front.

Up there was a mech with a coal black and camouflage grey color scheme. A violent shade of red traced across his heavy and thick wings. His orange optics looked hesitant to meet anyone else’s, so he just settled at looking at the wall in the far back of the room. What was concerning about this little mechling was the wide and deep cracks that seemed to spider web across his armor.

“My name is Skyraven, I’m 60 vorns old and I have an illness that causes these cracks in my armor.” His peds shuffled the ground as his voice cracked on some words. “Oh! And I can do this” he added somewhat eagerly. His wings folded down and meshed together, forming a thick cape that flowed down to his ankle joints. The class clapped as he returned to his seat.

The last bot of the second row went up and introduced himself as DepthSoarer. His colors are an aqua blue with a white waist and servos. His optics was colored like water with foam at the edges.

“I am 59 vorns old and I can go under energon.” Like going under water, MoonStrider hypothesized. Next was a femme that sat on the opposite side of the red femme next to her.

She bounced up to the front of the room, humming and swaying her arms. A pair of twin wheels sat on her shoulder blades and another at her hips. The femme is a shiny black color with optic catching neon green on the sides. Her red optics shone with life as she bounced in her spot.

“Hi’ya! I’m Sharpspark and I am 57 vorns old and I like shiny things!” She spoke fast, like she was hyped up on goodies. She bounced back to her seat as fast as she had come. MoonStrider giggled.

“Ah’m Orina Paxil, ah’m 57 vo’ns old and I am a twiple change’ah dat likes to pwank.” The class giggled and clapped as she sat back down. MoonStrider’s younger mindset was all nerves as she got up and walked to the front of the class. Her older mindset smoothed over the edges of the younger one, sliding to the front to take over for the younger one. It was a bit strange; her older mindset had taken the back seat for so long, allowing the younger to take control experience everything. So now the older one slid in, taking over and easing the younger one to watch and learn. She turned and faced the class, towering over all of her classmates.

“Hello, my designation is MoonStrider. I am 38 vorns old and I am a reincarnation.” The class murmured in confusion, not knowing what that meant. Well, all except Silverstar, whose scowl was replaced by a surprised look. She must know that it means. The teacher looked shocked, too. But of course she would know. MoonStrider walked back to her seat with some bounce, softly snickering to herself. Next up was Silverstar.

Her scowl back full force, she moved from her seat and up to the front. She was short, _really_ short. If standing, she would only come up to MoonStrider’s thy, or wrist joint if she let her arms swing down. Silverstar turned stiffly to face the class.

“I am S-Silverstar and I a-am 46 v-vorns old. I have a v-virus in my s-systems that causes me to s-stutter.” Her left arm twitched slightly, another side effect to the virus perhaps? Yellow optics connected to gold once again and the owner of the gold smiled to the owner of the yellow. Silverstar moved to her seat and sat, looking away from her and focusing on the teacher.

“Well isn’t this a fascinating class! We are bound to learn a lot from each other this stellar cycle! As some of you might know, I’m Blossom and I shall be your teacher for this stellar cycle of learning!” Very energetic, MoonStrider thought to herself, and that neon yellow plating is an optic sore.

The jours passed and the cycle of learning was over. MoonStrider moved swiftly out of the door to meet up with her Carrier who was waiting outside. Seajump smiled at his creation.

“Did you have a good first cycle of school?” He asked. MoonStrider looked up at her Carrier and smiled before replying in the positive. She looked back behind her and spotted Silverstar and her other classmates.

“It was verrry good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The One, I’ve been getting questions about who The One is. Basically it’s the being that created all of the ‘empowered ones’. Now, I’m religious and believe in God very much, and The One is God. They say God has many names; The One is one of them that I came up with and that is what MoonStrider calls him. The One will be a big thing in this story, but if you wish to imagine The One as something different than God, you go right ahead, I’m not going to stop or protest it. It’s just how I view him in this story.  
> And if you are confused, bi-foots are humans. MoonStrider was!!!!NOT!!!! Human in her past life! Banish all of those thoughts, because she wasn’t! Her ‘core powers’ were basically the elements and the badassiry to do whatever the hell she wanted. And her companion was a telepath as well as telekinetic.  
> On Quotev Dot Com  
> The fabulous Mixtape belongs to the equally fab BloodStar!  
> The pretty Snowstorm belongs to the beautiful animeNINJAlover!  
> The ever ferocious Plumeria belongs to the gracious Plumeria Prime14! And to her story “The Balancer”  
> On FanFiction Dot Net  
> The dangerous Daydream belongs to the imaginative Insanity Virus!  
> The sensitive Skyraven belongs to the valiant CybertronsLegacyMystic! And her story “Transformers Prime: A New Life a Great War”  
> The amazing DepthSoarer belongs to the mysterious SS (seriously though, I don’t know who the hell this person is O>O, they didn’t have an account)  
> The Prime-worthy Orina Paxil belongs to the ever epic Optima Prime! And her story “Transformers: The Lost Prime”. She is also kind enough to put my OC into her own story, so go check that out!  
> The hyper Sharpspark belongs to the lovable Tinyterror!  
> AND LAST BUT NEVER LEAST!  
> The grumpy Silverstar belongs to my good friend, the weirdo known as Quiet Slumber! And her story “Reborn” (yeah you heard me right Q.S, I just told everyone your weird!)


	10. Chapter 9: Playtime with Orina and Skyraven

** Chapter 9: Playtime with Orina and Skyraven **

             

School was fun, she was learning all about this planet and its inhabitance, and some of its culture as well. She enjoyed it when they learned about biology the most. The cybernetic bio-structure was fascinating. An entire planet solely devoted to nothing but sentient metallic beings. The planet itself was _alive._

                Inside of her chassis, she found out, that she had many different mechanisms keeping her alive. Her spark was the core of it all, her soul and her life force all bunched into one. She has a spinal structure that she used to move her back, it just so happens that her wings are connected to said spinal structure. Two fuel pumps moved energon throughout her frame, energizing her legs so she could move around, her face so she could speak and her optics to see. The energon kept her spark going.

                There was also something called a field that every cybertronian produced. It was an electromagnetic field that surrounded a bot and showed emotions and such to those standing in close proximity to the bot. It also can be controlled; the bot can will it to expand or recede closer to their frames. But to expand ones field took a lot less concentration than to recede.

                MoonStrider smiled from where she sat. Miss. Blossom was pointing to a diagram of Cybertron, showing them all of the cities and all of the major geography. Apparently she was one of the only bots in this class that seemed to really seem to give a damn about this lesson. The only others seemed to be listening was Silverstar and Skyraven. All of the others were either off in their own world or doodling on the desk with lead sticks. Not like she was taking notes or anything, but at least she was paying attention. MoonStrider snickered slightly, her older mindset foggily brushing against the forefront of her mind.

                That was another troubling thing. Her older mindset was starting to… diminish. It wasn’t leaving her. No, that wasn’t it, but it wouldn’t be there much longer. It was… merging with her younger mindset. As the younger matured, it became easier for the older to co-exist with it. Recently it reached a point, in which her mindsets became so alike that they couldn’t easily tell one from the other, and they started to merge into one mind. With her minds merging in such a way, she felt her younger mindset maturing faster and faster, due to the knowledge and experience the older one was passing to it. Her younger mind was dominant, and soon there wouldn’t be ‘older and younger’ mindsets. It would just be her.

                She smiled, that would be nice. Even after all of these vorns: which were equivalent to around 83 years in her past life. Her helm tilted as she calculated the math. She had been in this Academy for “Special Bots” like her for about 3 orns now, which were at least 2 week each. MoonStrider hummed, she had been like this for over 3,154 years. Funny how fast time flies when you’re having fun. Her smile grew into a grin that to others would look quite sinister. She quickly wiped the grin from her face as the teacher turned to face them. No use in giving them more ‘special’ things to pin on her. A bell rang.

                “Ah, Playtime! Make sure to come right back here for the rest of the lesson.” Half of the class was already out the door and down the hall before she even finished. MoonStrider stood, towering over the other sparklings. As she walked to the door she felt something grab at the back of her wings, hooking around the base of her larger pair of wings while settling on the same spot of her smaller set. She mover her wings around slightly as Orina got a better grip, clasping at what would grow into her sparkling bar.

                A sparkling bar was a sturdy piece of metal on the backs of all seekers that could be retracted when not in use. It was a place where sparklings would cling or hook themselves onto when the seeker needed their servos free. It was a rather nifty thing to have. She had clung to Carrier’s sparkling bar many times out in public, to and fro from her lessons and school and even just while he was shopping.

                Orina was rather small, and she was able to comfortably carry her around on her back to the playground and back. Once and awhile she would walk with her on her back out to where their Creators stood, it always brought a smile to their faces.

                Finally she was in the right position and MoonStrider strode out of the class. The halls were crowded with other ‘special’ bots like her and her class mates. Though, to be perfectly honest, MoonStrider thought they all looked perfectly fine. Well except Plumeria, but she’s a good kind of special. Younglings were pushing and shoving each other to get to the doors to the outside first. MoonStrider saw Silverstar getting shoved rather harshly by a few other rushing younglings. She was shoved so hard that she fell. Her rear was about to touch the floor before MoonStrider reached down and plucked her up. Swinging her around, she felt Silverstar’s servos clasp around her wings. The two femmlings on her back moved around, moving so that they could both cling onto her back comfortably. MoonStrider heard Silverstar grumble something, but couldn’t really make out her words.

                She smiled as she weaved in between the running younglings, just one of her strides matching four of theirs. It was quite amusing to watch them try and beet her to the doors.

                The doors opened and a river of younglings streamed out of the school. MoonStrider felt Silverstar detach herself after the overflow of bots stopped. With mumbled thanks, she ran off. Orina stayed where she was, claiming the spot as her own as MoonStrider moved over to a metal tree with crystal leafs. With one good leap, she grasped at a bottom branch and hauled herself up and into the leafy branches. Orina giggled as they climbed up the tree, higher and higher. She reached the highest branch she could grab without breaking.

                She looked around, smiling as she saw all of the sparklings playing. It was a nice site.

                A shout was heard, her smile turned to a frown. The one bad thing about this playground was that it was shared with the other Academy next door, the school for ‘regular bots’. She slowly climbing down the tree, her peds hit the metallic ground sending up a small cloud of crystal dust. She scoped around, until her optics landed on who was causing the commotion.

                Skyraven was surrounded by a group of taller mechlings from the school next door. They were poking at him and pulling at his wings. Skyraven himself was sniffling and crying out as the older mechlings hurt his sensitive wings, pulling at the cracks in his fame, and laughed at him. Skyraven looked over to her, his little face covered in glowing blue tears. He reached out for her and she spark broke, that little face. MoonStrider huffed, her whole frame straightening up to her full height. She marched over to the group of mechs, her optics never leaving Skyraven’s, who was staring at her hopefully as she trotted over. Using her hips to bump the smaller mechs away she reached Skyraven, who she propyl picked up and swing over her shoulder. He nestled in next to Orina, safely protected by MoonStrider’s large wings.

                She waltzed out of the cluster without a word, the sound of mouthy mechlings fading behind her. They wouldn’t dare start something with her. Even though MoonStrider was above hitting youngsters that were not her own to discipline, she would not stand them hurting others that were incapable to defend themselves. Skyraven’s little servos dug into her plantings, not hurting her but it was not comfortable. She found a spot where no one seemed to be at, it was well hidden behind a patch of soft iron long grass. Fallowing a programing that she had never activated before, MoonStrider built a nest in the long grass. When she made an acceptable nest, she reached behind herself and grasped gently at Skyraven’s scruff bar and brought him around and in front of her before laying him in the nest.

                Skyraven looked up at her in surprise; his Carrier makes nests for him. Taking comfort where it was given, Skyraven burrowed deeply into the soft nest. MoonStrider moved through the iron grass, her mind coming up with scenes of her and her two companions on a dangerous quest. Her imagination brought many things into being; bringing forth images of imaginary figures that had come to help her vanquish her foes. MoonStrider smiled as she went back to her makeshift nest. Wiggling her wings, she pulled off the miffed Orina from her back. She sat the red and blue femmling next to Skyraven before sitting down herself. She smiled at the two smaller younglings.

                “Let’s play a game.”

 

                OoOoOoOoOoOoO

               

                MoonStrider stood on a battlefield, enemy carcasses littered the ground, and their energon stained her sword. She trumped through the terrain, not once stumbling, she was that sure footed. She was on a quest, one that she would not fail. A cape graced her back, adding to her sense of elegance.

                A noise through the metallic trees gained her attention. She drew out her massive sword, which stood half as tall as she did when impaled into the ground. Dangerous amounts of electricity crackled over its surface. She shifted into a defensive position.

                “Who goes there? Show yourself or taste my blade.” She called out. The rustling continued before a shape emerged from the crystalline foliage. It was a tall coal black mech with dark gray camouflage in places along his side, a violent shade of crimson stained the edges of his wings. He quickly folded down his wings to form a cape similar to her own, though her wings were still shown. A pair of brilliant orange optics shown brightly from behind his translucent visor, looking at her with amusement.

                “You’re always a pleasure to see, too, MoonStrider.” His voice was low and thick with masculinity. She smiled at her fellow seeker before sheathing her blade.

                “To you as well, Skyraven” She replied back. “Why are you here?” She questioned.

                “Same as you, I was sent out by his Majesty to aid you in vanquishing the evil in this land.” MoonStrider nodded at him, a little help was always appreciated. Besides, Skyraven was a good fellow, even with his questionable past. Even she had skeletons in her closet.

                “I understand you are a mage?” Skyraven nodded at her inquiry.

                Suddenly, the ground started to shake and the crystal leaves on the metallic trees started to shake. She and Skyraven stumbled around as the ground shook and cracked. The metal trees fell into the cracks, the wild life running as their home caught fire. The ground moved up, something coming up from the core, hatching like some demented egg from the planets crust.

                MoonStrider was rather peeved, all of this stumbling was scratching at her wings. Though she got a small amount of satisfaction seeing as Skyraven was fairing no better. The thing that was emerging from the ground finally emerged up in a shower of molten rock and metal. The duo of warriors gazed upon the monstrosity that they had come to vanquish.

                Red and blue sheets of gagged metal overlapped to form metallic scales, a long deformed body slithered from the depths of the underworld. Razor sharp fangs and optics filled with rage and death were pointed down at them as the beast snarled, its head expanding into a large hood. The evil beast hissed, darting forward to snap at the two. MoonStrider activated her thrusters, diving to the side with force as the giant serpent’s helm connected to where she and her companion had just been standing.  She was relieved to see that Skyraven had moved in time as well. She unsheathed her sword, dashing forward to slash at the evil serpent’s body before it regained its bearings. She noted that Skyraven had begun to shoot spells of ice at the beast’s head.

                The serpent moved, whipping around to smack at Skyraven with its ginormous bladed tail. It focused on her. Fire burned the landscape around her as she faced off with the beast alone. Electricity crackled around her frame as she held her blade in front of her. It lunged, fangs filled with death inducing venom aiming for her. She jumped, landing on the beast’s head as she used her momentum to launch herself onto its back. Bringing her blade down with a mighty battle cry, she attacked the serpent’s back. The serpent screamed before whipping its head around and biting at the silver femme. MoonStrider yelled as she was thrown off of its back and sent tumbling. The serpent fixed its haughty blue optics upon her, slowly slithering forth as she struggled to stand. The cold servo of fear gripped at her spinal structure as she stared into those familiar optics. The beast opened it mouth wide, wide enough that she could easily stand within its massive jaws. Just as it was about to strike, a streak of black magic swooped in and hit the serpent in the face. It screeched, its head tossing back and forth as it was blinded in one optic.

                MoonStrider felt the dread leave her frame as Skyraven appeared and helped her to stand. Skyraven checked her over once as the evil serpent was distracted. He then looked to her.

                “We need to work together if we are ever going to get her back.” his voice held an urgent yet desperate tone to it and MoonStrider felt herself feeling the same way. She needed to get her back, not only for her sake but for the whole kingdom’s. She nodded firmly to indicate she understood. Just in time, too. The evil serpent gained its bearings and glared with venomous hatred to the duo. Skyraven ignited his servos with his dark flame as MoonStrider readied her blade with electricity. The beast lunged once again but they were ready. They shot and slashed at the head and hood of the serpent, tearing gashes in it’s hide. Energon stained the ground and the pair, coating their frames in glowing blue life blood. The battle lasted for hours, Skyraven and MoonStrider dealing out more damage than they were receiving.

                She stabbed at those familiar optics, angst filling her as she was forced to kill her, for her own good. She snarled, her denta bared. For her own good. With one mighty heave, she impaled the monster’s processor through it’s optic. IT twitched as her blade dug deep, before going still. She stood there, not moving from where she was, just staring at the graying husk of the evil she had just smote.

                “ ‘Twas for your own good, my friend.” She mumbled, placing her servo against the head of the dead serpent. Skyraven kame up behind her, placing his own servo next to her own with a small bow of his helm.

                “Goodbye my friend.”

 

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

 

                There was a giggle, then another. And another… giggles turned to full bouts of laughter as the trio finished their game. MoonStrider’s servo was still on Orina’s helm along with Skyraven’s. Orina herself was covered in a long piece of metallic cloth that served as her ‘snake skin’. MoonStrider and Skyraven both welded sticks as their ‘swords’ and MoonStrider had a piece of the cloth on her shoulders as her own cape. They had ventured all around the playground in their game, enticing many cheers from the other younglings as they “fought”. It was really fun.

                MoonStrider never really had any time to play like this in her past life; her mind had always been on other things. Even with all of her children, she never really did all of this. It was nice. MoonStrider gazed off into the sulfur filled sky, thinking. Her children, she had thought of them quite often here. They would all either be dead or on the verge of it now. Her wings drooped downward as her thoughts turned sad. **All of her children…**

                She was a good mother. She loved each and every one of her children dearly. The thought that she could never again be for them, broke her spark into a million pieces. Her wings lowered all the way, the edges almost brushing the ground. Her bond flowed with confusion and worry from her Creators, both wondering why their creation was suddenly so depressed. The worry from her Carrier overpowered that of her Sire’s, and after deeming that he could aid no more, her Sire retreated and let Carrier take over. A soothing feeling ran like cool energon over her saddened spark. Her Carrier moved in and brought a wave of comfort, taking the pain from her spark and reassuring her that everything would be ok.

                Her wings rose a bit and her mind calmed. She would make new, better memories here in this new word and body. She could have more children, make friends, and have a family. MoonStrider smiled and hoisted Orina and Skyraven onto her back as the bell rang.

                _This could work._

 


	11. Chapter 10: Park

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where everything starts moving forward!
> 
> I do NOT own Silverstar, Orina, or Skyraven! Nor do I own the Transformer franchise! I own MoonStrider and the other OC’s mentioned in this chapter tho!

** Chapter 10: Park **

                MoonStrider jumped over a bench as she walked down the street. Carrier had begun to trust her now to walk to school on her own while he was busy. It was fine by her, and even though she loved her Carrier a lot, a 68 vorn old youngling like herself needed some responsibility. 2,400 years had passed. She had finished her lessons with the percussion instruments and Helix Violin along with the trumpet-like one and the electric piano. She enjoyed playing the electric piano regularly, along with the Helix Violin when she had the time. She had moved on to further her study in this planet’s music by studying at an institute in her hours when she didn’t have school. She was a music protégé to them. One so young such as her, and she didn’t even have her first heat cycle yet!

                She “Wow”ed the bots in the musical institute enough to get a full scholarship. Her Carrier was very proud. Her Sire… he couldn’t really be bothered with it. A small part of Sire still wanted a mech instead of a femme. Sire was also still upset that he never found out who broke into the house and stool his explosive gel. The thieves had left no clues and he had interrogated each of the suspects personally, and found no faults.

                She even had a special subspace installed that would give her the ability to hold her instruments safely and in a climate controlled area. It was one of her gifts on one of her ‘creation cycles’ which was similar to a birthday but less celebrated. She now held her electric piano, her Helix Violin, and a Helix Electro-Guitar that she was currently trying to master in her subspace.

                Many things changed over the course of those 30 vorns. For one, her mind was fully merged into one. It happened rather suddenly, one moment she could tell the difference between her older and younger mindsets, and the next… _nothing_. She was whole once again, with all of her knowledge and experience from her past life with the mischievous and strangeness of her youth. She was quite dangerous now, if she had a will, she had a way. Her numerous ‘ **creative** ’ activities made her well known throughout the school and institute as one of the weirder ones. The random bursts of song didn’t help too much either; yet no one knew what she was singing anyway. It was in a strange alien language that no one understood, only she.

The bi-foots from her past life did make good music.

                MoonStrider hummed as she walked down the street, coming home after a nice cycle at school and a few hours at the music institute. She had gotten well acquainted with the grumpy femme known as Silverstar over the past 30 vorns, as well as staying close to Skyraven and Orina (who still clung to her back whenever she had the chance). Silverstar was rather reluctant to speak with her, but after a few orns of pestering, she had finally gotten a decent conversation from her. That started a strange acquaintance-like friendship between them.

                Reaching her home, MoonStrider buzzed in. Walking through the halls she called out for her Carrier. With no reply, she assumed that he was out and headed to her room.

                Her room had changed quite a bit over the vorns to accommodate to her growing size. A really big berth was in the far corner with so many blankets and pillows it looked more like a nest. The rocking chair from her sparkling hood was still there, as was her former “crib”. Carrier had wanted to keep that as a reminder to the whole “Crib Wars” that had happened and how it had lead them to discover that she was a reincarnation. Now that she thought of it, most bots had forgotten by now that she was a reincarnation. None of her class mates remembered, except Silverstar, but she didn’t really bring it up. Her Carrier remembered, but took it surprisingly well. He acted like she was a normal sparkling with normal needs and wants. She was grateful for that.

                She grinned as she looked at her walls and what covered them. Letters and glyphs of all different languages read from left to right on every wall, covering every inch in up to a thousand languages. You see, Drillbit was right about the overload of information not being able to process properly through her processor. One cycle while she was alone in her room about 40 vorns ago, her helm had started to ach. The ach had built into a shill pounding pain as her processor tried to cycle through the hundreds of languages she had learned over millions of years. The pain had gotten to unbearable, her Creators had come running in calling for Drillbit and Hydrogear to come as fast as they were able to. She had laid there in pain as her mind slowly processed each language word-for-word, letter-by-letter. Drillbit couldn’t do anything but clonk her out, but her informed that it would not help and the pain would just come back. So he grabbed one of her sharp utensils used for engraving. She had been sat next to the wall, where she had slowly started to scratch out each language.

                The four mechs in the room had gaped as she carved out a whole half of the wall in letters and glyphs before she was able to peacefully drift off into recharge in exhaustion. She had woken up about 7 jours latter to find Drillbit and Hydrogear puzzling over her over-processed work. But her processor had continued to go through her language bank, bringing a hiss from her. Her Carrier had said nothing, only held her up, given her the utensil, and let her get back to work. It had taken two orns to complete, and two orns to fill all four of her walls with almost every language she knew. Only Carrier could decipher half of what was written, and he refused to share it with others. Even when it had gotten out to the public that some “protégé creation had written unknown languages on her walls while in processor induced pain”. That was a hard thing to get out of, but after a while, it had calmed, and the press had stopped bugging them.

                She looked around her room her optics resting on her most proud possessions.

                Her crystals

                A horde of colorful crystalline objects rested in an orderly fashion upon rows of shelves sat in a bleacher-like way. They came in all different colors, shapes, and sizes, and each produced a unique sound. It was her own little orchestra in her room. She a new one every vorn for her creation cycle. But her most prized crystal was her first, the one that sat in the middle of her horde. She smiled at the memory of getting that crystal and the mech who had given it to her. It was her favorite crystal and one of her largest.

                A strange feeling in MoonStrider’s gut made her grab her favorite crystal from her collection. And after a thought she grabbed her blanket, the blue one with the black lining. MoonStrider looked at her blanket with a small smile; her name was stitched on the one of the sides in black thread. She placed both of the items into her subspace quickly, and with a thought, she placed a small amount of credits in her subspace too from her small savings. It would be nice to get a rust stick on her way out.

                MoonStrider turned out of the room, grabbing a data pad on the way out. She quickly wrote a note to her Creators, telling that she would be at the Crystal Gardens with Silverstar, Orina, and Skyraven and that she would be home before the sky went dark. She didn’t want them to worry, her Carrier especially. She sent a quick pulse of love over her bond to Carrier, receiving one back right after.  She loved her Carrier, very much. She hummed to herself as she waltzed out of the housing unit and back down the street towards the Crystal Gardens.

                The four of them had promised to meet at the Gardens to play this cycle. Silverstar had to be persuaded a bit, but came around when they told her that it was just them and that she could be a ‘Warrior’, too. Orina always seemed to want to be the bad guy, and sometimes she was, too. Though she preferred to be a good guy most of the time, she made a pretty awesome bad guy. Skyraven was always a good guy. Her smile widened as she continued to hum. Skyraven was just so cute! With his tiny cape and toy sword! She held back a sound of delight; it would look rather strange to see a youngling walking and suddenly squeal as if she just saw the cutest turbo puppy she had ever seen. She calmed, she couldn’t tell Skyraven just how adorable he is because her would do everything in his power to deny it and act like a tough guy, which only served to make him look even cuter.

                The Gardens have stayed the same over thousands of years, only changing through new crystals being added and grown. She walked over to the park that was inside of the garden, there she saw her friends waiting for her. She choked back a laugh as she gazed upon them. Orina was dressing in a set of metal pieces that resembled a dragon while the others were dressed as warriors, helms and all. She also noted with a snort, a spare dragon costume in a large size. She walked over and grabbed the spare costume as her friends greeted her with ‘hello’s or hugs. Slipping the metal pieces over her helm, she felt Orina grab her wings, but instead of jumping onto her back she started placing little pieces of metal on them.  Looking back she saw that her wings now looked like that of a dragon’s.

                Dark memories crept up in her mind, memories of suffering and power. Her wings had looked similar, but yet so different. Scales and fur and flesh instead of metal plantings and ball joints. Talons made of organic bone and nail instead of iron and titanium. Her thoughts darkened. One of four. Two trapped forever, one lost, and here she was. She prayed to The One that her friends would forgive her for being here instead of with them.

                “MoonStridah’? Ya okay?” Orina’s voice blessedly broke her from her thoughts. She looked down to the little dragon look-alike and smiled.

                “Yes, I am alrrright” she continued to hook the metal plates onto her. She finally placed the last one onto her shoulder. She snickered as the game started.

                She perched herself on top of a large flat crystal that had been placed there for younglings to play on. She scoped out the area, searching for familiar hiding spots and good places to retreat to when the game turned into the favor of her ‘enemies’.  Other youngling and their Creators were walking around and playing. The hum from all of the other crystals made every little amazing thing seem even more so. She was at peace in this place.

                “Up there! A Dragon!” MoonStrider was yet again knocked out of her thoughts. She looked down to see Silverstar and Skyraven looking up at her with determined little faces. She smirked at them before letting out a little roar like… sound. She hopped down from her perch onto all fours in front of the two younglings. They jumped back slightly before waving their toy swords around. Skyraven made swooshing and zapping sounds to indicate using his magic while Silverstar made little huffing sounds. MoonStrider poured out little growls and snarls as they came closer. One of the toy swords hit her side lightly; she played it out by letting out a louder roar as if in pain. Encouraged by this, the two let out small battle cries and charged her. She bounced back, prancing around their swinging toy swords.

                A roar was heard, and Orina came charging in, jumping onto Silverstar’s back. That left her with Skyraven. His little face looked determinedly at her. He waved his servos at her in a strange way that she was sure was like him casting a spell.

                “You are unda’ my control.” Her stated while waving his servos. She played along, sawing back and forth with his servos as he cast his “spell”. After a little while she stopped and placed his servo on her helm, patting it. Her then hopped onto her back like a horse. He waved his sword above his helm with a yell. “To battle!” she launched forward, bounding like a frog towards where Orin and Silverstar were playing. Skyraven grasped Silverstar around the waist and hauled her onto MoonStrider’s back. MoonStrider picked up Orina while remaining hunched over enough to have Silverstar and Skyraven sit on her back comfortably.

                Orina rolled in her grip, wiggling and trying to get loose from her arms. She puffed up her chassis, before letting out a soft purr. Orina huffed as she relaxed in her arms, knowing that she had been defeated. The four giggled as their game finished. MoonStrider placed the three on the ground.

                Then another game started.

                OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

                MoonStrider walked up to the vendor, looking through all of the sweets that were available to her. Picking out a box of rust sticks she went over and paid for them. Sticking one in her mouth she placed the rest into her subspace. Walking back she hummed a song she was working on with her electronic piano. It was late and getting dark out; most bots were inside, though a few walkers could be seen here and there.

                MoonStrider was suddenly grabbed from behind by large ruff servos. One covered her mouth while the other pinned her arms to her sides. She didn’t have time to react and something was stuck into her neck cables. And the world went dark.


	12. Chapter 11: Blind

** Chapter 11: Blind **

She couldn’t see, she couldn’t move, she couldn’t speak. But she could hear. Guff voices and heavy metal footsteps sounded around her. She shivered where she was chained down, her arms bent at a painful angle behind her back. A metal mesh blindfold covered her golden optics and a thick gag was tied in her mouth. She had woken up like this not too long ago, her whole frame aching and her neck burning from whatever had been injected into her systems. She couldn’t tell where she was, somewhere damp if her olfactory sensors could be relied on. The ground beneath her was cold and hard and the air was damp and smelled of death.

MoonStrider should have been scared. She should have been crying and whimpering for her life, and if she was anyone else, she would have been. But her spark was old, and even though her mind held a sense of youth, she was still old. She was smart; she could get out of this.

There was a clamp around her wings and cuffs around her ankles and wrists. With a bit of pulling she found out that the chains were chained to the ground. The cuffs bit into her soft armor, drawing energon from the raw marks. The gag made her jaw hurt, and oral lubricant dripped past where her lips could not trap it. She yanked on the chains, testing their give. But they were specifically made to keep things bigger and stronger than her at bay and didn’t budge.

Before she could further study her surroundings and plan her escape, someone entered the room she was in.

“So this is what you bring me…” A gruff voice spoke out. A second pair of steps was heard along with the first.

“Yea’, Boss. Meh and Concave brough’ ‘er in.” The second voice sounded rather dumb compared to the sophisticated tone of the first. She remained still as a servo grabbed her chin and lifted it. “She’ll ‘ave dem rats fighting ova’ her like turbo dogs.” The first voice hummed at the statement of the second. Her chin was released as she felt the first mesh came closer to her. A servo ran across her wings and up her shoulders before grasping her neck. She could smell the first mech; his odor was strong and wickedly musky. She was hoisted up and she let out grunt as her raw wrists and ankles were yanked on by the cuffs.

“Is she mute?” _That voice… it is so familiar_

“Naw, Boss. She’d been talkin’ a whole bunch at da Gardens.” _She had heard it before…_

“She isn’t speaking now.” _Where though?_

“Hasn’t said a damned word, Clench, neither has she fough’.” _Clench… Clench is Sire’s friend..._

“I would have expected more from the spawn of Thundergouge.” She hissed as the servo squeezed. This was one of her Sire’s friends, why would he want her? Wasn’t her Sire and him friends? Her neck was released and she crashed to the ground with another grunt. She hung her helm low.

_Look weak, make them underestimate you._

She knew what she was doing; she just needed them out of the room before she could make her escape. Then she would think further on the problem of her Sire’s friend kidnapping her. She sent a pulse through her bonds… but nothing got through. MoonStrider calmed the panic welling up inside of her. Ok, her bonds were still there, just… dampened. Her panic calmed as she made that realization. They must have put something on her that made it so she could not access her bonds with her Creators.

A third set of steps, the door opens.

“Clench, the arena is packed and all of the gladiators are in position.” Clench and the other mech’s peds clanked on the metal floor as they moved out of the room. **Gladiators…** She was at an arena.

“Good, put her into position.” Clench and the second mech moved away and the third entered the room. The mech moved around her, undoing the locks on the end of the chains. She shakily stood to her peds as the mech lightly pulled on the ends. She moved one ped forward before collapsing in a heap. The mech came forward and caught her.

“Kid, you got to move.” She groaned, playing it out. The mech sighed. “I’m sorry yer going through this kid.” The mech pulled her up into his arms with a huff. She was still large and rather heavy for a youngling, reaching up to the mech’s chest. He carried her awkwardly down a hall and into a new room that hummed around her. She could hear cheers and yells coming from up above her.

She tried to speak through the gag as the mech set her down and chained her down again. He patted her wing in a comforting way before leaving and shutting the door. MoonStrider waited a moment before straightening up. She curled her digits inward towards the cuffs, she felt around for an opening in which the key card would go in. She found it after a moment of painfully stretching her small servos in awkward angles. Sticking in two digits she felt around for the latching mechanism, her pointer digit suddenly clicked in a bit deeper into the lock when she found it. She twisted her digits around, searching for the points that would go along the ridges in the key card when it would turn.

Suddenly the floor shook. And she lost her place. Her vents worked hard to cool her overheating body as the floor raised. The cheers and screams grew louder as she went up and up. Something above her opened and the noise hit her like a tidal wave. She hissed as the noise stabbed her sensitive audios like blades of sound. Warmth hit her back and wings from the natural light flowing through the area. The cheers grew in volume as she came into view for whoever was watching. Her blindfold prevented her from seeing just who was watching her.

She could feel their optics on every inch of her.

A loud noise of electronic feedback was heard over the crowd. And with this the roar of the viewers quieted. 

“ **GENTLEMECHS AND LADY-BOTS! ARE! YOU! READY!?** ” A loud cheer answered the announcer. “ **WELL PUT CHO’ SERVOS TOGETHER! CAUSE WE GOT A SPECIAL TREAT FOR YOU!”**

_Am I the main course?_

“ **NOW YOU SEE IN THE RING WE HAVE EVERY WELL KNOWN GLADIATOR ON THIS SIDE ‘O CYBERTRON**!” _Reminds me of a bi-footed preacher I once heard_ “ **HERE WE HAVE HELIX**!” A small cheer was heard on her left side behind her. “ **TARN!** ” A cheer on her right “ **IACON!** ” A cheer on her left “ **AN FINALLY! THE CHAMPION CITY!!! KAON!** ” The whole arena was filled with the loudest cheer she had yet to hear from this stadium.

“ **NOW WE ARE ALL GATHERED HERE FOR ONE SPECIAL REASON. TO SEE! WHO IS THE BEST OF THE BEST!!?** ” The announcer punctuated every word for emphases, and it was working. The crowd and gladiators cheered with such bestiality and ferocity that she could swear she could taste the oncoming energon shed. “ **NOW YOU SEE THIS LOVELY FEMME RIGHT HERE IN THE MIDDLE?!!?** ” A series of loud wolf whistles and cat calls was heard as this was said. MoonStrider tensed her whole frame and spark filling with rage. _They would rape a child!?!_

Her mind was no child, but her frame was. Her frame was far too young for any intimate activities! And if they would do this to her… what’s to stop them from doing it to others. MoonStrider heaved, her body shaking from anger and disgust. Something rose within her, something bad. She shoved it down before it reached the surface.

“ **SHE!! IS THE PRIZE TO THE LAST STANDING GLADIATOR!** ” The area _shook_ from the force of the roar coming from the gladiators around her. Her growl of disgust was masked by the roar. She would not let these… these _heathens_ touch her. Her claws dipped into the lock “ **LET! THE MATCH!**

 **BEGIN!** ”


	13. Chapter 12: Fight of the Gladiators

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Things get more “Rated M” from here on out readers! Things like gore and mentions of baddy-nastys. HAVE NO FEAR THOUGH! The more “Adult themes” are still a ways off, because seriously… she ain’t even hit her first heat cycle yet! Don’t worry, this is not gonna be a story all about robots doing the frickitty-frack, it’s actually gonna have a decent plot and stuff with conversations and fighting. Ill warns y’all when they decide it’s time to do-the-do, so you’re prepared.
> 
> I only own my OC’s

** Chapter 12: Fight of the Gladiators **

The battle was chaos for the young gladiator. Mechs dropped like electro-flies all around him as he swung his oversized sword at his next opponent. This was slaughter, unjust slaughter. This was put on so that these cities could get rid of their “best” gladiators. He wasn’t the best, he knew that. He was only 80 vorns old. How was he supposed to be good at anything at this age?

He glanced up at the pedestal in the center of the arena where the silver femme sat in chains. Even as young as he was, he could tell what she was. She was a youngling, younger than him. And a seeker. How the oafs in charge had captured a seeker, he hoped he’d never know. He focused on the mech In front of him, slicing through his abdomen with one good swipe from his jagged blade. Energon coated his blade and his front as well as staining the ground in puddles. He didn’t want to be a killer, but that is what he had to be. To live, he had to end the life of another.

But these mechs… they were pathetic. They stared at that femme with nothing but unhidden lust and possession. None had any tact; they swung their swords like sticks, hoping to hit something. But he, he was different. He had looked upon the femme with curiosity, not lust. He was far too young for any of that anyways.

He was smart. He gabbed and slashed his sword at appropriate times, his foes falling like flies before him. HE cleared an area around him, giving him a moment to rest his arms and study the femme in the center of the arena.

A seeker femme, clearly, with those large graceful wings perched on her back and her more aerodynamic figure. A large and heavy clamp sat at the base of her wings, making those with wings or door-wings flinch in sympathy. She was tall as well; he could see that if she stood, she would come up to his chin. And he was already larger than some of the fully grown mechs. It was obvious that she was no mere slave or low-class bot who wouldn’t be missed. Her gleaming silver and blue paintjob and accents to her frame being clear signs of her family’s wealth. She was from a higher cast, which meant that she had been abducted.

The femme didn’t move, and without her strange audio receptors twitching, he would have sworn she was a statue. His blue optics shone brightly as he gazed upon the strange femme, and something moved within him.

 **He** would win this femme.

The next gladiator came at him, swinging and yelling like a fool. He scoffed as he swung his blade, and with a flick of his wrist, decapitating the fool. He didn’t enjoy killing, but damn was he good at it. A loud roar came from the crowd behind him, along with yells of shock and confusion from his fellow gladiators. He turned to see what the commotion was, before grinning larger than he ever had before.

The femme was free.

And from the looks of it, utterly pissed.

He let out a loud bought of laughter as the femme dove helm-first into the sea of battling gladiators, leaving behind her discarded chains and gags. The mech worried slightly that the femme would be annihilated before she even got the chance. But his worry was proved falsely placed as the femme tore into the ranks of gladiators. Maybe he should be worrying for his fellow gladiators instead. He moved along the area, cutting down mechs as he went. Glancing over he saw that the femme had obtained a sword from one of the cadavers littering the ground. And with a start he realized that there was _electricity_ running down it. Apparently this femme was born with an ability, it had to be in her code line. Her Sire or Carrier must have and ability as well.

Slashing through his next match, he felt something bump into his back, twisting around he brought his blade down to smite his new foe, only for his sword to be halted by another in a clash of sparks. He looked down in surprise to see the femme standing there, her sword held in both servos. She looked up at him with hard golden optics, her face set in a grim scowl. She was ready to fight him, and everyone else in the arena and win. And the surprising thing was that he believed it. His optics looked at her with curiosity, his assumption of her age was proven as he got a closer look at her. She couldn’t be much younger than him. But those optics… He smiled slightly with a nod, he didn’t want to fight her, and he had enough mechs to worry about. Her optics looked at him with confusion before looking at something over his shoulder. She withdrew her sword away from his, before raising it over her helm and bringing it down.

He jumped slightly in alarm, was she attempting to kill him? His question was answered as the sword went flying over his shoulder plantings and landed into something behind him with a crunch of metal. Glancing behind himself, he spotted the cause of the noise. A gladiator had snuck up behind him during the exchange and was about to strike him in the back before the femme had acted. He looked back at her, yelling ‘thanks’ over the noise. She nodded at him, pulling her sword from the husk of the mech she had just killed. He moved, slicing though mechs that came after the femme as she was distracted. She nodded in thanks.

A silent agreement was settled between them. They fought back-to-back, protecting each other’s blind spots. They fought together surprisingly well, cleaving through lines of simple minded gladiators. He watched her closely, studying how she moved.

She had experience, but was terribly rusty. Her movements were striking in the right places, but the movements were not fluid in any means. He could tell that she knew what she was doing, but she was so out of practice that some of the mechs were getting past her defense. Thin scratches trailed down her front, and a nasty looking gash ran down her left arm from her shoulder to her elbow joint. Thankfully she was smart enough to pull her wings down as she fought, preventing them from being large targets to the mechs they fought. This surprised him though, a higher cast femme knowing anything about combat was a rarity. Femmes in the higher cast were well protected and had no need to know how to defend themselves, so how did this femme become skilled in combat? His question would have to be answered later as a mech jumped in front of him.

The life-energy of their enemies covered them, running down their face plates like some form of revolting perspiration. The grey frames littered the ground in pieces, parts flying everywhere as the crowd cheered through the destruction and energon shed. The other Gladiators of the Pit focused on them, a match of 50 to 2. The odds were not in their favor, obviously.

He fought fiercely, borderline animalistic. She fought smartly, using her size to get past their enemies defenses to slash at vital points. Electricity ran down her arms and up her sword, aiding her along. One good whack with her blade could send a mech reeling with electric shocks while his system fried. He was careful not to touch her, he didn’t fancy getting fried, terrible way to go really.

The crowd’s cheer rang in his audios, his energon pumped wildly in his veins, his fans spun in a weak attempt to cool his systems. His blade crunched through metal frames, vibrating up his arm until he could almost feel it in his helm. His frame tingled. Snarling, he decapitated another gladiator. He felt the femme moving at his back, her wings brushing against his back, a small tingle of electric charge trickling through him.

The both were tiring, but their enemies were dwindling in number. Ten-maybe fifteen- gladiators were left, him not included. It was fierce, and he was tired by the last mech. With one last battle cry, he stabbed him through the chassis. The frame greyed around his sword before slipping off. His frame was covered in dents and scratches; one stupid gladiator had got him good in his left shoulder, almost rendering it useless. He turned almost sluggishly towards the femme as she finished her last mech. She didn’t look too good either. The gash on her arm had widened as she fought, now it bled heavily in glowing blue streams down her arm. A good sized nick in her right wing looked like one of the mechs had clipped her with a studded mace as she performed a not-so-evasive maneuver.

Her face was stone cold, her lips drawn in at a tight line, and she stared at him with heavy suspicion. She was waiting for him to make a move, for him to try and ‘claim’ her as the last gladiator standing. He didn’t though. He didn’t move from his spot, he didn’t say anything. He just… stared… at her. This seemingly innocent femme turned killer in less than a jour. His young but intelligent mind worked through everything. He always wanted a friend.

He dropped his sword and shield, and drawing in a deep vent, he stuck his arm out in greeting and spoke.

“Hi, I’m Megatronus.”


	14. Chapter 13: Never Free

** Chapter 13: Never Free **

She didn’t know what to do. Fight and get back to her Creators? Yes, she wanted to do that. But the risk… she was destined to die if she did that. They would hunt her down and off-line her at any chance. She knew too much, she knew that Clench was the owner of the Gladiatorial Pit in Kaon, which was where she was currently. She needed a solution, one that let her and her family go free and unharmed from this. Kill Clench? _Ohh_ that could work. That sounded pretty tempting to her at the moment. Kill him and be done with it. But the thought left a bad taste in her mouth, she didn’t want to do that, truthfully. She didn’t want to be a killer, not again. Not after what she had suffered through in her… past life.

MoonStrider let out a heavy vent as she stared at the silver mech before her. He was trouble, but he was different than the mechs she had killed today. He didn’t look at her with disgusting thoughts of mindless pleasure. No, he had looked upon her with an unhidden curiosity. He wanted to know her, know about her. He was young, too. Older than her current fame, but still young by any means. His pretty blue optics stared into hers with intense curiosity burring in the depths. His plating was colored silver, with red on his sides and in between the plating of his armor. His shoulders came out in three armored plates that looked sharp to the touch. His hem was different than most, flat on the top with rounded sides that came to the front to form points just below his chin. He was rather tall as well, she only stood to his shoulders. And she was a large femmling. For him to be this tall at his age meant that he was going to be massive in his later vorns. His chassis was awkward looking, he had not fully grown into his armor and it gave him a rather funny look.

Her optics bore holes into his, she was curious too. He had fought with her instead of against her.

She had been tied up, locked inside cuffs that had dug into her wrists and ankles till they bled blue. She had waited, awhile in those cuffs until the attention was focused on the fight rather than her. She had then dug her claws into the cuffs and unlocked them along with the ankle ones. She had stood, ripping away the gags and blindfold from her face. Chaos was what her optics had seen first. Mechs fighting and ripping each other apart in a brutal animalistic fight, over her. Anger and rage filled her, flowing through her like fiery water from the black pits of Hell. Something was released from her frame as she had felt that, something had unlocked and made itself known to her. Electricity crackled and hummed between her fingers, racing up the palm of her servo and cackling its way up to her shoulders. She felt it through her, humming and zapping in power. But she was… frightened.

She had once had an ability such as this… she one had a way to create storms of lighting at her command. She vented heavily, her mind racing. Was she not free? Was she still in their grasp? _Was she doomed to live forever in this body_? **_Was she like she was before_**!? Her frame shook and trembled as she gazed at the electricity flickering over her arms.

No!

She had torn her thoughts away from the dark memories and her dark thoughts. She was free. She could feel no difference in her core from this. Certain Cybertronians must have abilities like this, her Sire did! He had the ability to create his thunder booms, some sort of coding must have been passed on to her. With this thought had she calmed down, and dived into the sea of battling mechs.

The fight had been brutal, and it sickened her how easily she had off-lined those mechs. But it was do-or-die in this case, and she had no room for mercy. She was very very rusty, her swordsmanship was sloppy and over done in some cases. She knew what she was doing… she just hadn’t done in… what? 5… 6 thousand years? Anyone would be out of it in that time.

But the sword felt comfortable in her servos, it felt natural. Old knowledge of plays and foot- _ped_ work would filter up into the front of her mind. She remembered old moves, little tricks that made things easier. Her movements had started to slowly get smoother, a movement to the side flowing into a parry from the front. Then she had bumped into the silver youngling.

The mech had startled her, to say the least. He had not wanted to fight her, frag! He didn’t even want her “ **That way** ”! But then what did he want?

They had a silent agreement, how they had both understood, she didn’t know. But they both got it, and had fought back-to-back for the rest of the fight. And when they had finished, he had just… looked at her. With those optics of his. She could swear she had never seen optics more beautiful than his.

He had then given his name, she truly didn’t know what to make of this mech. His name was Megatronus. She faintly remembered her Carrier telling her about a mech named Megatronus, he had been one of the original 13 Primes. And he was corrupted by Liege Maximo into betraying Primus and his once brothers. But, this mech could not be the original Megatronus, his optics were not gold… She shook the thought from her helm. He must have chosen it for himself.

She grinned up at the mech, her optic’s softening from a hard gold into a buttery yellow. She stuck her servo out, grasping his.

“I’m MoonStrider.”

He deserved a chance, and she could see no malice in his optics. No hidden agendas, just a mechling, looking for a friend. He smiled back. The noise of electronic interference was heard. MoonStrider lifted her helm to see the crowd settle as the announcer called in.

“ **LADY-BOTS AND GENTLE-MECHS! I GIVE YOU THE LAST GLADIATOR STANDING! MEGATRONUS!!** ” The crowd went wild and MoonStrider removed her servo from the silver mech’s. She would not be any mech’s…play thing! Megatronus walked forward then, placing a servo on her shoulder as she glared up at the high balcony, where Clench and the announcer sat. Clench was smiling. “ **MEGATRONUS! CLAIM! YOUR! PRIZE!** ” Her frame tensed, as Megatronus moved towards her, her optics going hard as her grip tightened on her sword. But… he didn’t do as she expected.

Megatronus grabbed her free servo, and held it high into the air. She grinned, what a smart mechling. Clench was no longer smiling, a deep scowl set on his face as he glared down at them. Megatronus had just declared her as his _equal_. Which meant that he did not “own” her. The crowd didn’t care, they just cheered and screamed at them.

Megatronus tugged on her servo, leading her out of the arena and to an opening in the side. IT was dark, her optic’s strained to see past the inky blackness of the pit. Noise was heard soon though, yelling loud voices that were gruff and deep. A cheer was heard as they finally stepped into the light.

“Looks like Pipsqueak got the femme!” One voice called out, laughing was heard as mechs came into her view. Mechs of all different sizes clustered around them, leering at her.

“Yu’ gonna share, Pipsqueak?” One mech questioned with a sneer as his servo extended to her. She snarled before biting the servo hard. The mech yelped before yanking his servo away and holing it to his chassis as little blots of energon seeped through his fingers. “Damned viper!” MoonStrider hissed.

“Keep your grimy servos to yourself! You pathetic pervert!” The mech growled before turning to Megatronus.

“Your femme’s got some cheek, better smack that out ah her as soon as ya can.” Megatronus chuckled as the others seemed slightly wary of the femme now. But they hid it well as one of the others came up, bursting with arrogance and snobbish ‘I’m better than everyone else’ like aura. He came right up to her and slung an arm around her shoulders. Her frame was so tense that she could be hit by a boulder and not move an inch. This mech was fragging around with the wrong femmling.

“I saw you out there, shuga’” He held her close, rubbing his frame along the side of hers ‘seductively’ He was just a few feet taller than her- rather short for a full grown mech- she came up to his chin. “You were pretty smooth out there. Why don’t ya ditch the pipsqueak and see what a real mech can do for ya?” _Oh, she could show him just what a ‘real’ mech is going to look like in tears._

“I would suggest… that you remove your arm from my person.” _One chance, mech. See what will happen._ The mech scoffed, moving his servo lower on her frame. MoonStrider hissed, and reaching for the electric current flowing beneath her armor, she pulled it out and unleashed it upon the idiot mech. The mech screeched as an electrical charge zapped its way across his neural net. He fell to the floor, twitching. MoonStrider rolled her optics as she stepped closer to Megatronus. It wasn’t even that much of a charge.

Bot of the youngling’s helms snapped in the direction of a single pair of clapping servos. Clench stood at the edge of the darkness, staring at the two with a sinister grin. She stepped forward as her glare intensified.

“It seems,” He halted his clapping. “That I had underestimated you, MoonStrider.” He continued to walk towards them before leaning in with a harsh whisper. “That was some stunt you pulled out there.” Deeply hissing he spat his next words. “You insulted this arena, Megatronus. You insulted **_me_**!” A harsh slap rang out as he stuck the other gladiator. The other mechs in the room backed up, not wishing to gain the wrath of their master upon them. Megatronus kept his optics lowered, rage burning in them as he held down his desire to run his blade through Clench.

“You’ve earned yourself an orn in the cages.” Megatronus’ optics snapped up, a trill of fear running through him. He pushed it down as fast and as hard as he could. He didn’t like those cages. He felt servos wrap around his arms, guiding him away. He had no choice but to go willingly, or be killed. “And the femme, too.” Burly arms wrapped around the femme’s arms, pinning them to her chassis. She let out a feral yell as she thrashed in the grip.

“MoonStrider, you need to be calm.” Megatronus tried to sooth the angry femmling. She hissed back, and after a few more fruitless attempts, she went rigid in the mechs grip. They were lead-well in her case carried- through metal halls with doors all along the sides. Dim lights shown overhead, giving them sight as they traveled deep into the area. They traveled downward, past the rooms that housed the gladiators between matches and all the way down to the lowest level. To the darkest room.

The doors opened and a small amount of light filtered in, illuminating the room. Rusted, slimy cages swung from the ceiling, some against the walls, and some on the floor sitting in puddles of… stuff. She gagged at the smell, it was repulsive. And familiar. The stench of death and decay with a touch of bodily waste. Some of the cages had… spikes going into them, all of them covered in sticky, old energon that no longer glowed. A grey rusted frame of a gladiator sat in the furthest cage, parts were missing off of him, and his optics stared with the blackness of death at the group that walked in.

Megatronus shivered. This room… scared him. He hated to admit it, but it did. The smell, the look, the dead mech in the back. This place was a common nightmare for him. He vented heavily as he was lead to one of the hanging cages and thrown in, MoonStrider landing in another hanging cage slightly closer to the door. The mechs turned to leave, all of them grumbling as they left and shut the door behind them. Leaving them in total darkness.

Megatronus was hyperventilating, his young processor coming up with every scary thing he had ever been told or seen. He would never say it, but he was still scared of the monsters in the dark. He clutched at the bars, his frame curling into a ball as he shut the world out. He was still young, very young.

MoonStrider felt pity for him. He was a gladiator and had to suffer through the thoughts of killing all of those mechs. He was only a bit younger than a toddler in her mind. And she wasn’t wrong, even in Cybertronian standards he was in his toddler stages. The thought sickened her, he was forced to kill and he was still young enough to be scared of the dark. She felt around blindly, the pitch blackness of the room making it impossible to see. The only source of illumination was their optics, and that did next to nothing to pierce the blackness of the room. She scooted over to the bars closer to him, her legs trailing though One knows what. She reached though the bars with her smaller arms and felt his cage. She grabbed one of the bars and held on.

“Megatronus…” The mechling jumped his wide blue optics searching for the femmling he had forgotten in his panic. He calmed a bit, knowing that she was here and that he was not alone.

Besides, if something comes, it’ll eat her first.

He reached to the bars closer to those shining gold optics. He felt around until he did, and his servo came into contact with another. He jumped slightly.

“That’s my servo.” He relaxed once again. She gripped his servo as they both pressed against the bars towards one another. Their arms hung between the bars as their servo’s entwined tightly.

“I don’t like this place.” Megatronus whispered softly, as if speaking any louder would awake the dead that rested here. She didn’t like it either, and she theorized that if she was not as mentally old as she was now, she would be right there freaking out beside him.

“Me nether.” She squeezed his servo in comfort. “It’s ok, though. Nothing bad will happen to us.” MoonStrider felt a sting in her left arm, which happened to be glowing with shed energon. She had forgotten that in the confusion. The more she thought about it, the more of her ached. She held back a groan as her arm clanked against the slimy bars.

“I… I don’t like the dark.” He spoke in a hushed, ashamed voice. She squeezed his servo again, before she remembered something. She had her crystal in her subspace. Pulling her injured arm back, she pulled out the large crystal. Soft light flooded the room, shining over the two younglings. Megatronus’ optics stared at the crystal in awe and amazement.

It was beautiful. He had seen all different types of crystals, he was a miner before he was a gladiator. But he had never seen one so clean cut, so bright and pure. MoonStrider held the large crystal carefully, cradling it against her chassis. Megatronus’ grip tightened slightly before going almost slack. She carefully fit the crystal between the bars, passing it over to his cage. He needed it right now, more than she did. The light shone on his face plates, a tired but calm look on them. He grabbed the crystal and pulled it into his cage. He held it even more carefully than she did, curling his frame around the light source. The crystal hummed soothingly in their audios, calming them down from the excitement from before.

MoonStrider smiled at the mechling, he wasn’t bad. He could be a good friend to her, he just needed a chance. And she was willing to give him that chance. And here, in this arena, they both would need a good friend to survive.

And with that thought, the two younglings drifted off into recharge, still clasping each other’s servos though the bars.


	15. Chapter 14: An Orn in the Cage

** Chapter 14: An Orn in the Cage **

“Rise an’ shine!” A gruff voice called out, banging on the cages. The two younglings were startled awake, their servos slipping from one another’s. Megatronus turned his frame, hiding the crystal from the mech in front of them. The mech was thin and looked very out of place. His colors were orange and red with black decals on his servos and cheek plates, and a strange set of red glass goggles sat on his optics. He shook the cages once again, fully rising the two younglings from their restless slumbers. He pulled out two small cubes, very small cubes. One was placed in her cage while the other was placed in Megatronus’. They both snatched them up and drank them in one gulp, the fuel not even filling a fourth of their tanks.

The mech had quickly introduced himself as Turmoil, the arena’s medic. He patched up MoonStrider’s arm and a few of the gashes on Megatronus. The rest were left. The medic himself then left, closing the door and leaving them in darkness once more. Megatronus brought out the crystal from where he was hiding it from the medic. Now that they were awake, they could not go back to sleep. So they began to talk.

Megatronus had an accent, a strange one too. MoonStrider had commented on it and he had told her that she had one, too. They had both shared a good laugh as they imitated each other’s vocal patterns, adding heavy slurs and growls to make they sound ridiculous. Megatronus had a deep, thick Kaon accent that made him spit out his g’s and rumble his vowels. Her accent was a mix of Vos and Iacon, her Sire was from Iacon while her Carrier was from Vos, and it made her speech both smooth and nasally. Her vowels were spoken with the tip of her glossa, while most other sounds –especially the ‘wah’ sound- were spoken at the very back of her throat. Megatronus had taken a delight in making her accent sound terrible, but she dished it right back.

She had told him about what happened to her before she had got there. She told him of her Carrier and her Sire, about Drillbit and Hydrogear, and about her friends. She left out that she was a reincarnation, he probably wouldn’t even know what that was and she was not ready to tell him. In return for her stories, she was graced with some of his own.

He was a miner ever since he could walk. He was deployed deep within the surface of Cybertron, working endless cycles to reach the demands of his superiors. He didn’t even have a name then; he only had a code number to go by: D-16. Sold to the arena at a young age, he named himself. Megatronus was his pick, for many reasons. He longed to change his destined path of a gladiator, to forge his own place. So he chose the name of one who forged his own, one who was so destined for something they already were writing songs of his greatness before he even did it.

Megatronus Prime.

It was quite corny in her opinion, but she kept that to herself.

Megatronus only knew his Creators for a short time. He was taken from them as soon as he was able to work and never seen them again. His bonds with them were never fully strengthened and were weak from separation and time. The only person he had ever seen in a creator type role had been an Elder in the mines. The Elder had taken care of the sparklings born into the slave cast and had treated Megatronus as one of his own. Sadly, a cave-in had taken the Elder’s life, and not long after, the overseers decided to make him a gladiator.

Megatronus fought in the Pits for only a half a vorn before she had appeared, and had yet to make a reputation. And in the Pits of Kaon, one had to make a name for themselves. MoonStrider didn’t know how long she would be here, stuck as a slave to a mech that was supposed to be a friend of her Sire’s. She had to tread carefully.

“I’m hungry.” Megatronus wined quietly. MoonStrider looked at him sadly. Mentally Megatronus was the equivalent to a toddler; she kept forgetting that, assuming that he was like her. Not in the reincarnation way, but in the sense that he was young in frame but mature in mind. She pulled out her can of rust sticks.

She pulled out two, handing both the bigger youngling. She was smaller than him and her frame was built for energy conservation. He needed to energy more than she did. Megatronus apparently never had a rust stick before, and groaned and moaned the entire time eating the sweet. It gave MoonStrider something to chuckle about.

They were going on their fourth cycle in the cages, and Megatronus had told her all about himself, and she had told him the majority of hers. They talked and talked for jours at a time, distracting themselves from everything around them. Megatronus was scared of the room, she knew that, and she was happy to help take his mind off of it. She wasn’t necessarily bothered by it, her old soul had seen worse. But the room did send an unpleasant shutter up her spinel strut.

She brought out her Electric Piano once and played a few songs that she had learned from her lessons at the Institute. She had continued to play the Piano for Megatronus for three cycles straight, until her digits hurt and her servos cramped. The silver mechling had been fascinated; he had heard of Electric Pianos but had never heard one. For him it was a very pleasant experience, even under the circumstances.

It was on the sixth cycle of their sentence that it turned bad.

MoonStrider was a born seeker, and with that came a set of programing that demanded the sky. She had been without the sky for over six cycles now, and the claustrophobia known to flyers was only held down for so long by sheer will. But finally she couldn’t hold it back anymore.

The bars of the cage moved in closer to her, the top and bottom of the cage squished her wings and forced her to lie on her side. Her breath came out in harsh pants and she pushed against the bars of the cage, trying-and failing- to move them back.

“Bars… Moving in! Can’t move! Can’t Breathe!” She shivered. _The bars were crushing her!_

“MoonStrider, look at me! MOONSTRIDER!” She looked over at the other youngling as she shoved at the bars. Her servos grasped at the bars, tugging and shoving at them as she thrashed in her cage. Panic spread like a fire in a dry forest with in her. She couldn’t think straight, everything was a blur in her mind, thoughts mushed and burned in the fire of her panic. But a servo gripped hers, clinging to her digits and squeezing them tightly. “Focus on me, listen to me.” She did, gripping onto him tightly, focusing everything on him, and not the closing bars that surrounded her. She didn’t look away from that pair of pretty blue optics that shone with concern and fear. Slowly, she forgot about the bars around her, only knowing the mechling in front of her as the fiery panic died.

They both had their arms through the bars, pulling their hanging cages towards one another to lock their servos around the other’s shoulders. The femmling’s breaths came out in short pants, her vents roared to cool her heated frame. Megatronus traced a design that stretched across her shoulders, calming her further.

“Th-thank you, Megatronus.” The mechling nodded.

“Do all seekers have a fear of closed spaces?” H asked.

“Yeah… it’s a program.” He grunted at her words.

“Stupid program,” she laughed at his words.

“Yes, very stupid.” They fell into silence. And soon, they were both recharging in each other’s arms.

 

The seventh and eighth cycles were bad; MoonStrider kept having panic attacks, each one worse than the previous. Megatronus couldn’t calm her fast enough some of the times, and she would fall into a panic-induced stasis. One time, during a rather bad attack, she had activated her ability, sending bolts of electricity all over the room. Megatronus was hit by one of them, and his screaming had knocked her out of her attack. She had then found out that she could absorb electricity and extracted the excess energy from him. Thankfully, due to starvation, her bolts were not powerful and did not lasting damage to her new friend. Just some fried wires that Turmoil fixed in under a bream. Megatronus had forgiven her easily, but it took a few cycles after she forgave herself. After that, she only had one mild panic attack and that was the end of it.

The two younglings now considered each other friends, good friends at that. They had made a pact to get through this together and see what happened after that. After that, they seemed to grow close.

Tenth cycle, only four more to go, Clench came in. He had poked and prodded at the two, looking at them over with a trained optic. He didn’t say a word, nor did they, and he left as quickly as he had come. The rust sticks had gone out, and the two settled on preserving their tiny rations in the can that had once held the rust sticks. The two of them made quite the team; both were startlingly intelligent for their presumed ages. They had even found out how to move the bars apart and squeeze out. They did this rarely, the chances of someone walking in while they were out was too high of a risk. Usually it was just MoonStrider that did it, her hearing was far superior to Megatronus’ and she could hear if someone was approaching or not.

She had picked clean the area, even going so far as searching the dead mech’s chassis for anything of use. She only found a few things, a small stock of iron shavings used for supplements in energon and a strange looking tool that looked like a welder. The welder helped to close up some of their lesser scratches, and if Turmoil noticed, he didn’t say. With the moving of the bars also came to the two younglings first real physical contact.

The two had cuddled, sharing in each other’s warmth for a few jours. They had poked at a few places on the other’s frames, mainly just Megatronus poking her wings and her poking him back in revenge. The two passed the time joking, and for the last few cycles of their sentence… it didn’t really seem like a punishment anymore. Not that they’d let their holders know that. Secretly they laughed behind their holders’ backs, and then acted miserable when they came into the room. It was quite funny.

The twelfth cycle was good, with only two more to go, the younglings were both in good spirits. MoonStrider taught Megatronus the lyrics of a song she knew from her past life, it was a rather vague song, and didn’t mention anything remotely bi-footed. Megatronus in return taught her songs of the miners. They were amazing, but he mentioned that they sounded even better when sung together in the mines. The long winding tunnels echoed the song for miles under the surface, the sounds of hundreds of miners harmonizing sent vibrations through your very core, shaking and changing your spark to feel their pain, longing, and hope. She was completely fascinated; she wanted to hear it for herself. He promised that one cycle he would show her.

Thirteenth cycle Turmoil came in to check on them, he was very aloof, but the look he gave them was chilling and gross. He eyed their frames with a hunger that spelled trouble to come. His servos lingered on their frames a little longer than necessary, and he poked at Megatronus’ panel, which was answered by a harsh slap from the youngling. MoonStrider hissed at the medic as he glared at them, but he didn’t say anything, knowing that he would not win in a fight against them. But as revenge, he “Forgot” to give them their much needed rations. They thanked their separate gods that they were smart enough to preserve their fuel.

The final cycle of their sentence came and they were both eager to get out. They hid all of the things that they had gained and made over the past orn in MoonStrider’s subspace, only leaving out the crystal, but that too, was kept almost out of sight and ready to be subspaced at moment’s notice. When Clench came in at the end of the cycle the two did their best to look as miserable and broken as possible, even going as far to rub grime all over their frames.

“Are you going to behave, younglings? Or do you need another orn in the cage?” Clench asked sinisterly. The younglings were not really affected by the mechs words, they could very well go another orn no problem, but they would rather get out of the room. So they both nodded. Clench waved his servo to the mechs behind him, and their cages were unlocked. Secretly they smiled to one another, before wiping them off their faces and frowning.

They were then led down the hall, away from the room and the cages that had held them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I know, these chapters have been short, but I’m trying to get a build up here! It harder than it looks because I keep going back and seeing sentences that need to be worded differently and words that are spelled strangely, and the way I spell them looks right and it says it’s right but it’s just a different word that looks the same! So yeah that sucks.  
> I don’t know about y’all, but I kind of like having an author’s note at the bottom or top of the story. It’s kind of like a cushion to the reading, ya know? I don’t know, maybe it’s just me.  
> Till all are one~


	16. Chapter 15: Searching

** Chapter 15: Searching **

Seajump sat in the dark, cradling a stuffed turbo-hound close to his chassis. He rocked back n’ forth, his breaths choked with his sobs of anguish. His frame shuttered with the force of his sorrow, and one could hear the pained keens howling from his mouth.

His baby, his little darling sparkling… was gone. Just… **_gone_**. No ransom note, no clues, not even a witness. She had just disappeared into thin air like a ghost. Yet another choked sob squeezed past his lips, as he pressed his face into the plush dog, smelling his creation in the soft fabric.

“Oh Primus, _why_! My baby, _my darling_ **WHY!?”** He could barely speak; his voice was raw from his sobs and wails. He cursed to the skies as he curled up on his creation’s berth, feeling where she had slept just a few cycles ago, smelling where she had been. He hoped and prayed that she would be found, and then he would never let her out of his sight.

She had disappeared on her way home just two cycles prior, witness states that she had stopped for a can of rust sticks before taking the main road back to their home. She had been taken in between then and their home.

A large group of mechs and femmes from all over Iacon were helping to search for his missing creation. Seajump had searched without rest for two cycles straight, not stopping for sleep or fuel. It was only with the unanimous plea from everyone that he went home and got some rest. But he couldn’t sleep. How could he? With his creation out there, scared and being held captive? How was any Creator able to sleep knowing that?

He just stayed there, sobbing and wailing over his missing femmling.

And that was what greeted Thundergouge upon his return.

The sire didn’t say anything; no words of comfort could come to him. He just didn’t know what to say, nothing to ease his mates fears, nothing to ease his own. How could he ease the fears that they both shared? So he curled up next to his mate, wrapping his arms tightly around him in a needing embrace. Seajump pulled Thundergouge closer to him, squishing the plushy in between them as they grasped for each other. Seajump cried and cried into his mate’s neck cables, his bonds all thrown wide open in his pain. But one bond couldn’t be opened, one was silent. This made him sob harder, and nothing that the other bonds could say or do could make him stop.

Thundergouge felt his mate’s agony, his pain. He wasn’t crying, his walls were up and his spark was numb from others. But nothing could stop his walls from crumbling right now as his spark mirrored his mate’s. A single glowing tear fell from his right optic, but where there is one there is another. And another and another… until he was openly sobbing with his mate. The strong, sturdy mech, who could be considered cruel and unfeeling at times, was reduced to pile of sobbing, broken Creator. He cried out for Primus to return the one that he had secretly loved above all others: his darling sparkling, his beautiful creation.

He swore on his spark and the sparks of his Creators, that if he got his creation back he would never be unfeeling towards her again. He would shower her with love and affection, he would spoil her with anything and everything she could ever need and more. Never would she want for anything.

The two Creators fed off of one another’s pain and pleas, both falling so deep into their sorrow that it seemed to swallow them whole. Their cries seemed to shake to room around them; their pain pierced every spark that was connected to theirs, and through them, others that they were not connected to

Until the loss of one sparkling echoed in the sparks of every Cybertronian in city of Iacon

Creators put themselves in their place, imagining the pain of losing their little ones, and sparklings imagined to fear that their fellow youngling must be in. And for a cycle, the whole city mourned with them.

 

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

 

It had been seven cycles since their sparkling’s disappearance, and minimal evidence was found. They had found the alley in which she had been abducted, and with that was a syringe that held traces of MoonStrider’s CNA on the end and a heavy sedative in the needle. There was no big sign of a struggle, other than a bit of scuff marks on the wall with a bit of red paint chips. MoonStrider was silver and blue, so the paint was from the kidnapper.

Creators of MoonStrider’s classmates had lined up to help search for her, and bots from the institution had come to help, too. Seajump and Thundergouge had thanked them all.

Everything that could be thought of was done. Seajump made a public plea, asking the kidnappers to please return his creation, and offered a ransom reward. They put a picture of her on the backs of energon cubes, place posters all over the city. There were so many false leads, bots either playing tricks or thinking one thing was another. But other than finding the alley in which she was abducted, there was nothing.

Seajump and Thundergouge were devastated as cycles turned to orns… and orns turned to vorns. Everyone who helped in the beginning left, the task forced assigned to the case deemed it cold and gave up.Only Drillbit and Hydrogear stayed. The two were hurt beyond words when their closest friends and family gave up as well, and urged them to do the same.

**_Besides, they could always have another…_ **

Seajump had said some choice words to his family and friends after that, and then cut off all connection with them, even going as far as getting a dampener on his bonds with them. He didn’t talk to them again after that, even when they tried to apologize, he wasn’t hearing it. How dare they say that he should give up on his creation?! He knew that she was alive, and he would search till the ends of time to find her, his family be damned. No one was going to get in his way.

Seajump became bitter and cold to all but his mate. Thundergouge became cold, and harbored a deep rage in his spark. The sadness and agony had festered into hatred and rage in the vorns of fruitless searching, but still nothing was done.

They stopped printing her picture on the backs of the cubes, and the posters were faded and torn down.

 ** _But they never stopped searching_**.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: this was so sad to write! AHGHHakjsdhfjweh Fuck this! I gave myself terrible feels right now.   
> I’m gonna go cry in the corner.  
> I am writing another story right now alongside this, it’s called The Authoress. I think it’s pretty damn funny, and I’m guessing others do too. Feel free to go check that out if ya want.  
> Till all are one ~


	17. Chapter 16: The Training of a Gladiator

** Chapter 16: The Training of a Gladiator  **

The cheers were defeating, the smell of spilled energon reeked throughout the stadium. Pieces and parts of fallen gladiators littered the ground and made the terrain all that more traitorous. It took a lot of skill not to stumble over the heaps of scrap metal surrounding her as she avoided being cleaved in half by her larger opponent.

MoonStrider was a gladiator now, and was the property of disgusting piece of filth known as Clench. Apparently having a femme gladiator upped the arena’s profits by 40 percent, which was quite a pit of credits. So instead of killing her, Clench stuck her into the Pit to fend for herself. Most bots came to watch her matches and all of them betted against her.

Apparently a small seeker femmling didn’t strike that much fear into the sparks of her opponents. But she and Megatronus had a good laugh after her matches when the one mech that did bet for her went home a rich bot, his subspace lined with unexpected credits.

Thankfully, Clench didn’t put her into the matches that required killing. She only had to get them down and either mortally wounded or unconscious. She was fine with that, as long as she didn’t have to take the life of one of her fellow gladiators.

She was a slave now, a slave to Clench, and she was quite upset about it. She wasn’t even a part of that cast, but still she could do nothing and say nothing. Or her life would be taken by some guards with itchy trigger digits. She had thought of sneaking around them or fighting through them if it came to it, but that idea was quickly shot down by a worried Megatronus.

She was underage, and she had to wait till she was of age to buy her freedom. It was difficult to explain. She would be owned, but not at the same time. In time, she would be able to go out and do as she pleased, as long as she returned by nightfall and fought in all of her matches. She could get jobs on the side, earn credits to pay off Clench to release her and take to blocks off of her bonds. Clench had made his point very clear, she would say until he said otherwise, or her Creators would suffer and she would die.

So, she would be a good little femmling, and grow strong while she is in the Pits. She would work to regain her freedom and keep her Creators out of it. And she had a tag along helping her.

Megatronus had stayed with her for the last stellar cycle she was here, which was around a year in time. It was quite a short amount of time in a Cybertronian’s life cycle, and it seemed to go by in a flash. But anyway, Megatronus was quite the mechling. He stayed with her almost constantly. Hell, they even shared the same room at night. It was easy to say that they were friends now. It was great, and they had even pulled a few things on the other gladiators that had pissed them off, namely the cocky aft that had hit on her after she got here. It was rather hilarious to see him slip and fall all over the place because they had put a special gel of the bottom of his peds.

MoonStrider ducked under a swing of a club that was aimed at her helm, and side-stepped away from the shield that was about to bash her off balance. The mech she was fighting was taller than her, and was built like a brick house. He was here as a warm up for his real match that was later in the cycle, and his match was a ‘kill or be killed’ one. The owners of the mech had put him up against her, thinking she would go down within a bream of the bell, but she had been going for a good jour and a half now. She kept to the defense, waiting for the mech to tire or get frustrated enough to start making mistakes. So far it wasn’t working, as the mech before her seemed to have endless patience and stamina. She was getting rather worn, her young frame unused to the harsh treatment of the arena. She had been working her way around him for a while now, ducking and back-stepping away, but remaining close and on the edge of his defenses, ready to strike at any moment.

Everyone who knew of her was no doubt surprised, but she didn’t blame them. An abnormally large youngling, who was a seeker and a femme? It spelled defenseless and weak, and everyone just **_knew_** she was done for as soon as she stepped into the ring. But Clench would not have kept her around if that was so, it would be a waste of credits, and Clench was all about the credits and any drain would not be tolerated.

She had her past life to look upon for guidance, old memories and lessons that helped her defeat her opponents, despite her lack of size and strength at the moment. She was hard-pressed to adjust them to this body, though. She had long ago adjusted her styles to use her tail and wings, but she didn’t have a tail anymore, and her wings were far too sensitive to use in combat. It took her awhile and a lot of failed matches to get to the level she was at right now, but she still had a long way to go. This was proved when the mech before her finally landed a hit on her left shoulder, crushing it with his club.

She screeched as her energon raced out of the fresh wound, but she forced herself not to clutch at it. Using the opening from the mech’s full ranged swing, MoonStrider jabbed her blade at his mid-section and upped her velocity. The mech screamed as dangerous amounts of electricity scorched their way through his frame. He fell back, his systems going into stasis from the overload of energy. She made sure to cut the flow of energy before the mech was permanently damaged. She didn’t want to risk the wrath of Clench if she lost the credits this mech was going to get him later this cycle.

The crowd cheered and screamed as the mech fell before her. She stood tall, holding her sword high above her helm as they cheered for her. They didn’t yet know her name and all they could chant was ‘femme’. It was ridiculous, really. She walked from the crowd and the fallen mech. He’d be fine within the jour, she wasn’t worried.

Turmoil was waiting for her as she got through the gladiator entrance. He led her to his shabby Med Bay to attend to her shoulder. His servos wandered, and she slapped his servos away from her panel too many times to count. Finally he patched up the last wire and cable and she left the creepy mech to his doings. Her arm would be sore for a few cycles, but it was nothing she couldn’t stand. She walked down the corridor with confidant strides, heading to the training field where she knew Megatronus would be. And he was.

He was currently beating into a training dummy, who they all named Carl. He was only using his fists to pound away at the dummy, bashing it in every place he could reach. MoonStrider watched him tiredly, her match took a toll on her energy levels, and that last burst of electricity really hit her in the gut. She needed to refuel soon.

Megatronus beet his fists into Carl for a while longer before one well aimed punch to the dummy’s jaw sent its helm flying. MoonStrider snickered as the mechling groaned.

“Not again.” MoonStrider started to clap slowly and loudly as she walked forward. The silver gladiator turned to look at his visitor with distaste, but distaste turned to a smile as he saw who it was.

“That’s the second time this orn, Megatronus. If you do it again Clench just might force you to pay for its repair.” She told him offhandedly as she stepped closer. Megatronus observed her for a moment, taking not of the energon clustered around her right shoulder and how she favored her left shoulder.

“Highly doubted he would, it only takes him yelling at Turmoil enough to go and weld it on again.” The femmling laughed. “You hurt your shoulder?” MoonStrider looked at her damaged plating.

“Yeah, mech got me with his huge-as-pit club. But don’t worry,” She grinned up at him. “I fried him.” Megatronus laughed with his friend as he threw and arm around her and pulled her to his side.

“Let’s go get you a cube; we can go back to our room for the night afterwards, how about that, Strides?” MoonStrider smiled as nodded as she was led from the room. They both walked through the halls of the underbelly of the arena, past the rooms that housed the gladiators for when they were not fighting or out and about doing whatever. MoonStrider looped her arm around Megatronus’ waist as they walked. The halls were vacant, but the cheering from above and the thumping coming from a few rooms kept them from feeling anxious about it. They reached the dispenser and Megatronus placed two credits in the slot. Two cubes popped out, both dully glowing from the low grade of energy in it. Grasping the cubes in their servos, they headed back to their room, which was a bit deeper into the arena than the others.

Due to being both of their rooms, Clench graced them with a slightly larger room than those who had their own rooms to themselves. Two berths sat at opposite sides of the room, pushed against the walls. A small shelf hung on the furthest wall from the door, and held a few trinkets and things that were in MoonStrider’s subspace when she was kidnaped. The can that once held rust sticks held a few sips of a premium blend of energon that she had nicked from Clench’s personal stash. Her Electric Piano and Helix Violin sat next to one another on the right hand side which was closest to her berth. Her crystal sat in the middle, providing light to their room, and saving them some credits with lighting. Her blanket was on her berth.

MoonStrider swayed to her berth before plopping down on it and sprawling out. She slowly nursed her cube as Megatronus walked around a bit, setting out a few things he had scavenged from the day. Nothing much, just a few pieces of scrap metal and a small jewel that he had skillfully nicked off of one of the high class femmes.

“Hmm, we could sell that jewel for a good bit of credits, Megatronus. You’re lucky you weren’t caught.” She commented.

“Pah! Those femmes weren’t concentrating on the jewels at the time, they were all over me! It was like fending off a herd of scraplets!” MoonStrider laughed at his complaining as her went on to explain how all he had to do was rub one servo own this femme’s back and the jewel practically jumped into his servo. “No doubt it was tired of those processorless wind bags and their high pitched wines.” MoonStrider laughed hard at Megatronus’ assumption.

“No doubt!” the two fell into a comfortable silence. Megatronus went to lie down on his berth, laying a servo on his abdomen while the other held his helm. It was a moment more before Megatronus spoke, his blue optics twinkling with laughter.

“Oh look at me~ I’m a rich, high classy femme with chassis enlargements and a processor full of fluff.” He changed his voice to a higher pitch and accented his voice in certain places to sound prissy. MoonStrider laughed hard before laying her half-finished cube down to sit up.

“I like jewels and pretty pink paint that makes your optics burn.” She spoke as he did, high and prissy.

“All I want to do in life is act stupid to attract an oaf who will give me stuff.”

“Must act stupid, us high class bots don’t have room for intelligent folks.”

“Le Gasp! How do you know that word?! That’s a smart word!” Megatronus gasped out in fake horror. MoonStrider placed her servos to her face.

“Oh no! I swear I’m not smart!”

“I don’t think that you’ll fit in.”

“No! I swear I’m stupid!”

“You have forsaken us.” Megatronus dramatically looked away as MoonStrider fell to her knees.

“Noooo!” She couldn’t go on as she started to laugh. Megatronus joined her not a moment later, his laugh vibrating its way through his chassis and past his lips. Megatronus stood from where he had been sitting to offer a servo to her, MoonStrider took the servo and Megatronus hauled her to her peds.

“Well, Strides, I do believe we should head to the berth and get ready for tomorrow.”

“Indeed, Megatronus.” She beamed up at her friend. She placed a quick goodnight kiss to the side of his face before hopping into her berth. Pulling her small blanket up, she curled into a ball and fell into recharge.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

MoonStrider hit the dummy with a closed fist, pushing it back a bit, only for it to spring back up. She hit it again, aiming for the shoulder, it bounced back again. She hit it over and over, practicing her jabs and punches under the calculating optics of the arena’s trainer. The trainer was one of the only mechs that didn’t try and get under her plating, and that made him good in her books. She was seen as one of his favorites, due to her non-whining attitude and willingness to learn.

“Aim lower, get inside of its defenses.” He yelled out to her, and she did as was asked, moving in and jabbing at parts of Carl’s abdomen. “Wait,” He came over, coming up behind her and grabbing her fists. He placed them in the right positing and aided her through a few movements. After a moment, he let go and let her try on her own. She performed the correct movements a few times without his aid.

“Good job, MoonStrider. You are a natural.”

“Thanks, Turboshift.” Turboshift nodded to her before making her go through the stances again. She had to get back into shape, her fighting form was terrible in this body and that’s why she had gotten clipped in the shoulder during her last match. Turboshift hadn’t been happy, and had upped her training until almost all of her free time was taken up. Right now they were in the arena, there was no matches going on until later in the day and the gladiators of Kaon were utilizing this time to train and better acquaint themselves with the terrain in the ring. MoonStrider and Megatronus were no exception. Infact, Megatronus was sparring with one of the other gladiators not one-hundred feet away from her.

MoonStrider took a few different stances while Turboshift pulled and yanked to adjust her stance. She observed Megatronus as he sparred with another.

He was born to fight; she could see it in him, the spirit of a true warrior. He was smart and tactical, he could see what his opponent would do before they even did and he already had a counter. He had strength, which was apparent, and was able to throw off bigger mechs with ease. Megatronus was a sight to behold, and it was clear to everyone that he was going to be the best, he was going to make a name for himself.

MoonStrider smiled, adjusting her arms to cover her chassis. She really liked Megatronus, he was an amazing friend. He warded off all of the mechs that tried to get with her and he had her back in a lot of situations. She had been there for him as well, talking him out of doing stupid things that would get him hurt and talking him into doing crazy stuff that involved pissing Clench off. They were quite the duo.

“Femme!” Her helm snapped over to look at the overseer. She was the only femme here, so he was obviously talking to her. “You’re sparin’ with Crusha’!” Crusher, for those who couldn’t understand that mech’s accent, was one of the larger gladiators, but he was so incredibly stupid that he couldn’t tell up from down. MoonStrider moved forward to the center of the arena, coming to face the massive black mech known as Crusher. She had to be careful, her shoulder was still tender and any wrong movements would cause the wealds to break. MoonStrider observed the larger mech as he growled and spit out oil from his mouth.

How should she approach this? She should take Turboshift’s advice and get past his defenses, gab for the throat cabling and try and get behind him if possible. The mech had good range of motion, yet his arms could not reach his back and if she stayed low enough, he wouldn’t be able to get to her.

“Ye both ‘ave two ways ta win. Either yer opponent taps out, or you knock ‘em unconscious. No killing! On da whistle!” The whistle blew and Crusher charged in, swinging away. MoonStrider dodged, ducking under his arm and going past his defense, moving in and jabbing her digits in between the seams to pull at wires. Crusher roared and kicked forward, slamming his ped into her and sending her flying. MoonStrider rolled, lessening the impact. Heavy footsteps came to her, before a ped was smashed into her side. MoonStrider grunted, rolling with the kick as it crushed some of her armor. She had to regain her footing.

Jumping up, MoonStrider flipped painfully back, away from the mech. She danced around him, swerving and bending her frame in ways no mech could hope to replicate. She couldn’t take him fully; he was too strong for her and could crush her easily. His swings were clumsy, but powerful. If she were to misstep… she could be greatly injured by this powerfully stupid oaf. MoonStrider ducked, running under an arm to swing herself behind Crusher. Pointed digits dug into thick black metal she grasped at the mech’s sides to climb. Her tri-pod peds clasped like servos around a piece of kibble on his back, keeping her in place as her real servos ripped and tore through his back. She aimed for the back of his neck, but it was too far out of her reach and she didn’t want to risk being thrown off just to try and get to it.

MoonStrider reached back to the damaged back plates of the bucking and thrashing mech under her. Crusher roared as her backed up, his arms waving and reaching behind him to rip at whatever he could of the femmling, which was nothing. She was pressed down close to his back, out of his reach as she searched for a nerve to pinch off and make him go offline. But she didn’t notice that Crusher was heading to the wall.

MoonStrider was stunned as she suddenly found herself harshly crushed in between a wall and stupid mech. But said stupid mech was rather hard and sturdy as he continued to bash her against the wall, over and over again. Her audio receptor and half of her helm was crushed. Her vision swimmed and twirled before her. She had come into this fight with no plan other than to get on this mech’s back and start pulling, how foolish of her.

MoonStrider fell from Crusher’s back, landing harshly on her left side. Crusher turned and kicker her harshly, her helm crashed against the wall once. And her vision went black.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

She had to move or she would die. Her shoulders moved back as she flipped over a flying piece of rock. Her sword sliced through the drones as she dipped and twirled around the training ground. Turboshift studied her from the sidelines. It had been a while since her defeat by Crusher’s servo, and Turboshift was determined to have her defeat him. Every cycle she trained, with barley any time to recharge or refuel. Her frame was tired and her servos were burning. But she didn’t give up. If she was to survive, she needed to be able to win, to take down those larger and stronger than her.

She knew how to take down those smaller than her. She had spent over a hundred million years in her past life doing so, she needed no training. It was the bigger opponents that were what she was struggling with. She had to move faster than them, strike faster than them, get inside their defense and take them down to her level.

She sparred regularly with Megatronus; he was always taller than her, even when she hit her growth spurts so he was always an available sparring partner.

That was another thing… her growth. She was still young, and still growing. She had been down in the Pits for over 7 vorns now and had several growth spurts during that time. When she had got here she had been standing at Clench’s chassis, now she stood a few inches taller than him. MoonStrider was now 75 vorns old and Megatronus was 77.

Megatronus… Holy frag has he grown. She only came up to his elbow! MoonStrider could swear that he had put on stilts to make him grow so tall overnight. Megatronus had replied to this by taking off his ped and lower leg armor, exposing his protoform just to prove that he was not wearing stilts. MoonStrider had then hit him and told him to put back on his armor before someone tried to take a jab at his unprotected frame. She didn’t care that he had shown her his protoform, she just didn’t want him getting hurt just to prove her wrong. Besides it wasn’t the first time it happened.

They had been with one another for 7 vorns, which was a long time, and they had walked in on each other to many times by now to care.Seeing another’s protoform wasn’t considered inappropriate in their culture, but they were young, so seeing someone bare was new and embarrassing for them; even if the first time was rather hilarious. Megatronus had walked into their room as she was working on a piece of armor, which meant that she had to take it off to see it. It was a small piece, just a bit from her wing. But Megatronus had seen, and flipped out.

His whole face had turned blue as she had reattached her armor, hiding her protoform. The silver mechling had stuttered out apologies, never meeting her optic, and thus not seeing her grin. She had repeatedly told him that it was fine, but he never really thought it was, until she had accidently walked in on him when he was fixing not just a small piece of armor, but his whole abdominal plating, bar his interface panel. He had scrambled to put back on his armor, getting a few pieces upside down or on backwards in his frenzy. MoonStrider had averted her optics, but felt no embarrassment. She really didn’t see the problem. IT wasn’t until they had both walked in on each other over ten times each that Megatronus had stopped caring, too. Frag, they even helped each other with the removal and replacement of their armor now.

MoonStrider jabbed a dummy, knocking it back into a wall where she proceeded to raise her leg and slam it into its gut, shattering its spinal strut and making the sparkles hunk of metal hit the ground. They were lifeless, energonless things with no thoughts; she had no qualms in tearing it apart. She moved around the dingy training grounds, tearing into drones her size or smaller. Knowing Turboshift, he was probably withholding the largest one for the last. MoonStrider didn’t mind, she didn’t tire as easily as she had before and had quite a bit of stamina now.

MoonStrider brandished her energon whip, her favorite weapon. Energy mixed with energon crackled down its sides, heating it to deadly temperatures, making it slice through the drones’ thinner plating. A set of strategic acrobatics helped her fly over the field with grace that hinted at her true age. No one could move like her, she could position her body in ways that had higher class mechs and femmes jealous. MoonStrider knew this, and did nothing to hide her smug grin during matches as the audience ‘oh’ and ‘ah’ed over her. Being old had perks.

Her right ped blade extended, slipping in between her tow front ped stabilizers ti be impaled in a drones neck, decapitating it and sending it flying. She brought around her right arm, which held her whip, knocking back the wave of drones that Turboshift had just unleashed. This was getting to easy; Turboshift had to be planning for something. Something that was sure to make her leave this exercise in pieces. She wasn’t wrong.

“Turboshift! Are you fragging kidding me?!” She yelled out over the commotion as she took notice of what drone she was up against next. It was a Z4 model, built for the largest mechs in the arena, and there’d yet to be a bot to defeat it. She glared at the grinning and cackling mech standing off field. She wasn’t in the mood for his slag this cycle. With one last swipe from her whip, the smaller drones were all gone. She now faced the Z4 alone.

“Stupid fragger, putting me against this…. Thing! What’s that glitch head thinking?!” MoonStrider griped at the drone powered online. Her language had gotten quite foul during her time in the Pits; she didn’t really care about it though. The red optic band that stood high above her helm locked onto her. The whirling of hydraulics were heard, the click-clanking of gears grinding against one another. The Z4 lifted its giant arms, which were as thick as she was, and smashed them down on where she had been standing previously. She was standing on the Z4’s left side now, positioning her whips to crackly threateningly behind her.

MoonStrider dashed around the drone’s legs, ducking through its swinging arms and kicking legs. She had been training for this, to be faster and lighter than those bigger than her, to evade their crushing blows and kicks. She was getting better.

Turboshift watched eagerly from the sides, his sharp optics tracing the femmling’s every move down to the smallest gear. She positioned right one movement, then the wrong way the next, barley evading one of the giant fists. She needed to remain lower, keep her wings clenched tightly to her back. The mech flinched when his pupil was sent crashing into a wall from a backhanded slap that the large drone had delivered. He heaved a sigh of relief when she recovered instantly. She was good, but there was almost always room for improvement. When fighting those around her size or smaller, Primus above was she a sight to see. Turboshift knew a seasoned warrior when he was one, and this femme fought like she had been doing it for millions of stellar cycles. But she hadn’t even reached a half a million. How mysterious this femmling was.

MoonStrider was still fighting the drone, and was dishing out quite the combination of blows. Her whip was providing the most effective out of all her attacks, leaving deep, heated red gashes all over the Z4’s frame. If drones could fell, pain, MoonStrider was sure that the Z4 would be down and out by now. She moved forward, sprinting up one of the arms and igniting her thrusters to gain momentum. She brought out both whips, pushing her electricity filled determination through their lengths. She brought both arms snapping forward, turning her wrists slightly to make the whips wrap around the Z4’s neck. She flew over its helm, her weight snapping the whips taught as she hurled downward.

A few moments later, a red hot helm fell from sizzling and sparking shoulders. MoonStrider huffed, rotating her wings back up into their normal position from where they had been pressed to her back. The blue and silver gladiator grinned, she had defeated the Z4.

“Gessin’ all mah trainin’ finally paid off. “ Turbo shift entered the training field. Coming up to the victorious MoonStrider, he slapped her on the back. “Congrats ‘Strider, done do what none otha’”

“Thanks Turboshift, I can rub this into that perverted Crosswire’s face.” She was talking about the mech that she had fried after she had gotten here. “Tell him that it’ll be his spike next.” She grinned evily up at Turboshift. The mech threw his helm back and laughed deeply and loudly.

“Femme, ya gat a bite ta ya, don’ think no mech gonna be tamin’ ya!” He looked back to her, grinning through his laughter.

“And I like it that way,” MoonStrider placed her servos on her growing hips, puffing out the chassis in pride. “they want it, they have ta’ earn it!” Turboshift patted her once again on the back before leading her out of the training area, letting the grunts clean up the mess.

“Ya only got a few mor’ thin’s too perfect before ya are done with my trainin’.” Turboshift informed. MoonStrider looked up at him sadly, she rather liked Turboshift, and he was a great friend and teacher.

“Will I still be able to see you?”

“Course!” MoonStrider let out a happy sound as Turboshift laughed. The femme looked over and took note that she was now taller than him, by a good amount, too. MoonStrider smiled as she parted with him and headed back to her shared room. She needed to pop out these dents in her armor before her next match.

Reaching her room, she input the passcode and entered. It was the same as always, with a few trinkets added. MoonStrider moved over to her berth, moving over her well-worn blanket, she sat down and removed a few dented plates. She shivered as her sensitive protoform was exposed to the world. Pulling a few tools from subspace, she began the tedious job of fixing her armor. She was a few dents in when Megatronus entered the room

He paused a moment, seeing her whole side bare of armor before shaking his helm ond moving over to her side.

“Must you always be in a state of undress when I arrive?” Oh, fancy sentences.

“Well you sound elegant.” She remarked, deepening her drawl on the last word. The silver mechling rolled his optics good naturedly.

“Do you have to be in your bare-aft protoform every fragging time I walk through that damned door?” He gave her a ‘is that better?’ look. MoonStrider grinned.

“Well there has ‘ta be something good for you to look at around here.” She replied with a wink. She grinned as he laughed at her comment.

“Oh really now?” He sat next to her, pulling up one of her armor pieces, he aided her in her task of repair.

“Yep, everyone else butt-ugly in these damned pits. I’m your little ray of sunshine.” She made a face at him, which he promptly smushed off of her face. He let go of her cheeks.

“That makes you look like one of those processorless femmes.” Megatronus gave her a look. MoonStrider stuck her glossa out at him, which he flicked, causing her to pull it back in.

“Do you always have a mean reply to everything I do?” She grunted, rubbing her glossa on the roof of her mouth to take away the sting.

“Someone has to keep your large ego in check.” Megatronus’ voice was filled with amusement as he said this, popping out another dent. MoonStrider made a face at him, scrunching up her mouth in a look of annoyance and displeasure.

“Jerk”

“Windbag” the quick jab back made MoonStrider grin.

“Idiot”

“Moron”

“Waste tank”

“Rust bucket”

“Processorless”

“Spinal strutless” Oh he did not just say that. MoonStrider made a ‘that’s haow you wanna go’ kind of face, moving her frame around too sit on her knees on the berth, facing him.

“Two-bagger” He turned to face her, a grin on his face.

“Gear grinder”

“Aft clenched”

“Glitch infested”

“Two-bit”

“Half-wit!”

“Turbo-rat!”

“Aft helm!” MoonStrider stalled for a moment, trying to think of an insult.

“Pleasure drone”

“Ha! You stalled, I win!” Megatronus puffed out his chassis in victory.

“No you don’t!” She protested.

“Yes I do.”

“No you don’t,”

“I have won.”

“Nope.”

“Yep, yep! I have won, you lose” He sang out.

“No, that don’t count!”

“Yes”

“NO!”

“Yes!”

“NO!”

“YE-“

“NOOOO-“A servo clamped over MoonStrider’s mouth. She felt a warm vent next to her audio…

“…yes” Megatronus whispered. Her muffled protests were heard as she clawed at his servo. Megatronus laughed, letting her go. The femmling pouted, crossing her arms as she looked away from the victor. Megatronus had finished popping out the last dent and MoonStrider had replaced it on her side as she stood.

“No.”


	18. Chapter 17: First Cycle Out

**Chapter 17: First Cycle Out**

“Oh, come **_on_** , Megatronus!” MoonStrider wined, tugging on the larger bot’s servo. “If you are any slower snail-mites might want to race you!”

“Don’t compare me to those disgusting vermin!” Megatronus grouched, “They get on your armor and itch like crazy.”

“Well you should be excited! Clench told us that we are now allowed to go out of the arena! We can celebrate!”

“I am trying to celebrate! By walking calmly through the streets of Kaon so I could actually remember how to get back!” Megatronus gabbed, poking her in the side. MoonStrider huffed, but slowed to walk next to her best friend. She was now 150 vorns old, and Megatronus was 157.

She and Megatronus were super close now; they had spent nearly 82 vorns with one another. Only a few things had changed since she completed her training with Turboshift, but the main thing was her relationship with Megatronus. It was… strange, they were close. Like friends but not, but nothing was officially said. It wasn’t much; a few extra cuddles here and there, the look of utter relief after each successful match, the crushing worry after each failed one. They had even pushed their berths together, both complaining about how ‘cold’ they were. Well… the arena did have a bad heating system, and MoonStrider liked her cuddles! It just so happened that Megatronus did as well… just not in public.

Oh, another thing was their height; they were now officially the tallest bots in the arena, due to a nasty growth spurt somewhere around the age of 102 that knocked both of them up a few meters. But Megatronus, being the aft that he is, was still taller than her.

Aft…                                   

MoonStrider looked at the spiked shoulder that was level with her helm, scowling as Megatronus snickered with a knowing look.

“Well short stuff, let’s get going.” Megatronus paced forward faster as MoonStrider growled.

“You son of a glitch, I’m gonna kill you.” MoonStrider griped out as she matched pace with the silver gladiator, hitting him hard enough on the back of the helm to leave a dent.

“Hey!” He exclaimed, gripping the back of his helm as he made a face.

“Yeah, that’s what you get!” MoonStrider put a bounce in her step as she grinned. Megatronus stuck his glossa out at her making a nasty face. She responded by booty-bumping him, her growing hips throwing him off balance and forcing him to stumble. Megatronus gave her a glare as her regained his balance. Before she could move, MoonStrider was caught in a headlock by one of Megatronus’ strong arms. A choking sound came out her mouth as she flailed before locking her digits around the main points in his arm before pressing down and out, which should have broken the chokehold. But it didn’t work. MoonStrider then decided to use one of her older moves to get free. Wrapping her arms around his back, MoonStrider used Megatronus’ grip against him to fully lift him off the ground. All of the mech’s weight was around her shoulders, making lifting the rest up easy.

Megatronus gave a startled sound as his peds left the ground. MoonStrider cackled as she held him in her arms.

“Put me down!” The gladiator shouted, but MoonStrider didn’t comply. She just laughed as the silver mech in her arms flailed. Other bots were staring at them, some had smiles and others were looking at them like they had a few bolts loose. MoonStrider finally set the mech on his feet as he scowled at her deeply. “I don’t like you,” he grumbled as he brushed off invisible dirt from his front.

“Because you love me!” MoonStrider proclaimed very loudly, grinning evilly up at her friend.

“Oh you wish,” he shot out, bumping into her side as they proceeded down the streets of Kaon. They walked past many things, rusty vendors, weapon shops, armories, and even brothels. Yes, brothels, they were not uncommon in the slums of Cybertron, as nasty as they were. Megatronus made sure that they were walking on the opposite side of the street, and that his larger, imposing frame hid her from view. MoonStrider smiled up at him in thanks.

“Ooo, Megatronus look!” Megatronus blinked before scoffing in astonishment. There, surrounded by dark, grimy shops, was a music shop. MoonStrider tugged on his arm roughly. “Can we Can we?!” How could he say no?

“Fine, but we can’t get anything.” He gave in, but it was fine after hearing her delighted squeal. MoonStrider sprinted into the store, diving out of site before he could fallow her. Megatronus rolled his optics before going after her. At least he didn’t have to worry about her; she was a strong femme and could take care of herself just fine.

Megatronus huffed. Being seen in a music store would do wonders on his reputation. He just hoped no one would see him.

MoonStrider didn’t give a damn as she strolled through the place, moving carefully between delicate instruments. Her gold optics sparkled as she spotted several instruments she had never seen before. She moved around spotting a quite a few she knew and several that she had mastered during her time in Iacon. She plucked a few strings in an EM-Guitar, smiling as each note played in tune. She circled around the Violins, all different from the other, one even had a glass handle.

What such fine instruments were doing in a place like Kaon, MoonStrider would never know. But she was happy about it. Her helm turned as Megatronus entered the store with a chime of the bell. She smiled and waved as he spotted her. Megatronus smiled and waved back, but didn’t approach. The instruments in the shop were too close together and he was bound to bump into _something_ and break it. He just walked down the wider center aisle.

Then she saw it.               

The Grand Electric Piano.

OoOoOoOoOoO

HyperDrive had thought the cycle would be just like the others, slow and boring. What business was there in Kaon? A city filled with military class mechs and criminals, none of these bots knew a B major scale from a hag squealing on a corner street. Why his boss sent him here, he would never know. And he was not happy about it.

The bell for the door rang, and a bot walked in.

HyperDrive had to double take as he saw the **_hottest_** femme he had ever seen. Round hips and chassis, thick legs that went on for miles. She had a face to remember and aura of power and promiscuity. His jaw hit the floor as he spotted the wings twitching on her back. **_A seeker!_** HyperDrive could do nothing but drool and stare at those hips that swayed side to side as she walked around, looking through the instruments. Why would a beauty like her be in a place like this? Shouldn‘t she be in one of those brothels down the street like the other femmes? HyperDrive grinned wolfishly at the thought of buying a night with her. She was larger than him, yes, but that just made it all the more interesting. HyperDrive’s thoughts took a temporary stall as the femme turned, showing him her sexy aft…

And the massive blade hooked on her back.

This femme was dangerous; carrying a blade like that was bound to get some challengers. Mechs wanting to rip that blade off her back and take her into submission.She circled around the violins, giving him a show of her from every angle. He didn’t even care if she broke something, it was payment enough to see something so lust-worthy walking around his shop for once. He heard her pluck a few strings on one of the EM-Guitars. With a twitch of his audios, the shop owner noted that she played the first five notes of a C concert scale.

The bell rang again.

And there stood someone he knew very well. Not personally, but his fame was loud and it was hard not to know the Mighty Megatronus. He was built like a mountain of armor, thick plates with numerous dark scars, and as tall as a gestalt. He was just as intimidating here as he was in the arena when he tore down mechs with one strike of his massive sword. HyperDrive was hard pressed not to go up to him and ask for an autograph or a picture or _something_.

The mighty gladiator looked around the store with keen blue optics, searching for something. What would the Megatronus want from his store? His answer was given to him not a nanoclick later when the silver mech’s optics landed on the femme in his shop. She waved at him with a smile… and he returned it…

Did he know her? How would he know a femme like that? A seeker femme with a sword as long as HyperDrive was tall!?

He must have bought her from one of those brothels, which was a plausible occurrence. HyperDrive could understand a gladiators need to “relieve some stress” after some matches. Oh, how he wanted to relieve some stress with her. Femmes were good that way, very pleasing to the optics and great berth warmers, and they didn’t fight when they were put in their place.

Lewd fantasies swam before his optics. The femme on her back, screaming under him as he entered her roughly, or her mouth wrapped around his spike as he thrust upwards. HyperDrive’s engine rumbled at the thought. That femme must be fun to play with, too bad she was taken by a mech over twice his size.

“Look Megatronus! A Grand Piano!” HyperDrive was snapped out of his thoughts at the femme’s outburst. He watched from behind the counter as the femme pranced over to the store’s prized electric Grand Piano. She sat softly on the seat before lifting the cover off of the keys. She was going to play around on the piano, play the cutesy act that she was paid for. The giant silver gladiator moved over and down the center aisle, coming over and standing beside the edge of the piano. The femme’s digits spread over the keys, tapping a few of them in random order. HyperDrive turned down his audios in preparation of the horrible stumpy playing that was destined to come.

But it never came…

A soft trill of notes came out, all weaving together in a way HyperDrive was sure to be false. Was she playing a recording?? There is no way that this femme could do… that.

The femme’s digits danced and flashed over the keys as she played her piece, the melody becoming more difficult with each measure. Her optics were locked onto the keys and a grin was slowly crawling its way onto her face. HyperDrive’s jaw dropped as she went into the melody, playing a part he swore was supposed to be a duet. How was she doing this? He couldn’t do that and he ran this fragging store! The femme’s playing became to crescendo, each note coming out almost violently as emotion poured into the playing. Her digits hit the piano hard, drawing out a loud, dark note.

“FERMATA!” The femme yelled as she threw her helm back with a mockingly evil laugh. Megatronus laughed too.

“You are two types of crazy, Strider.” Megatronus laughed. Strider? Who’s Strider? The name sounded familiar, but also not. HyperDrive tried to think on where he had heard the name ‘Strider’ before. Nothing really came into him.

“Let’s get out of here, MoonStrider.” Then it hit him. He’d been fantasizing about MoonStrider, the Gladiatorial femme with a killer touch and wicked fighting style. HyperDrive choked slightly, he was extremely glad he had not done anything or said anything towards them, and he would have had his aft handed to him. HyperDrive went to a few of her matches, he hadn’t been there for her, he had been routing for the other bot in the ring that she had been up against. Every time she won, there might have been some close calls or good hits in, but she always won. HyperDrive shivered, he had been thinking of fragging a femme that could fry him with one touch!

“But Megatronus! This place has so many beautiful instruments!” The femme pleaded with her golden optics wide. HyperDrive raised an optical brow, the One Touch Killer and the Mighty Slag Maker? Those two looked mighty cozy in one another’s presence, could they be something? HyperDrive shook his helm. No, no way. The gladiatorial pits were no place for any sort of relationship to happen, to many chances for you to get stabbed in the back.

“I know, but I want to go look at a few other places before we have to head back.” The silver mech insisted. The femme sighed in defeat.

“Yeah, let’s go.” She pressed a few more keys before closing the cover and standing. The two walked out of the store, but not before MoonStrider threw a wink over her shoulder.

HyperDrive choked.

OoOoOoOoOoO

MoonStrider and Megatronus spent the next few jours walking around the streets of Kaon, spending a few credits on some medical tools that they were sure to need later. MoonStrider snuck a small can of wax out from under one of the vender’s olfactory sensors. Yeah it was bad, but they didn’t have the credits to spare. And the vendor was an aft! He kept looking at MoonStrider with a nasty look in his optics; he even had the nerve to ask how much she cost!! MoonStrider felt no guilt in taking the most expensive wax she could, and later on Megatronus cheered for her. He hadn’t liked the vendor either.

MoonStrider had her wings poked at a lot, mostly by passing sparklings who were being carried by their Creators. The creators would pull their creations away as quickly as possible; MoonStrider just smiled at the sparkling’s curiosity. It was nice to see their curiosity at a young age, to hear them ask their Creators why she had wings.

Megatronus kept her close to his side, keeping off all the horny mechs that wished to get a piece of her. She didn’t mind, but she did know how to fend for herself. She had her ‘touch’ as she now called it, and the electricity she could generate could down a city former if she got in the right spot. She could also make a light electrical charge that could crack open anything that was mechanically locked, like stasis cuffs and doors that had key coded locks. It as a handy little ability that got her what she needed whenever she or Megatronus was injured. She could also overload someone... she didn’t want to explain how she found that one out.

MoonStrider stood in front of a small shop staring at the items in the bared windows. Nothing much was in the window that held any value, less chance of someone trying to steal it. But it was an armor shop, one that proclaimed that they can form any armor for anyone. At a reasonable price, that is. MoonStrider hummed, that could come in use some cycle. MoonStrider moved away taking note of where the shop was.

Megatronus was approaching her, an annoyed look on his face. MoonStrider raised an optical brow as his face deepened into a scowled as he spotted her and came close. What was up with him? Then she took note of what was following him.

And then she laughed.

A herd of goo-goo opticed femmes trying to clutch at every piece of him they could get to, but each time they were pushed off by either Megatronus or another femme trying to get a piece of him. Each femme was very thinly armored, and the armor around their ports on their sides and their interface panels were even thinner, with the latches painfully obvious and easily removable. They were pleasure femmes that worked at the brothel they had passed a few streets back.

And they had attached themselves to Megatronus. And from the looks of it, would go with him even if he didn’t pay. MoonStrider let out a loud bought of laughter, startling those around her and causing Megatronus-who could hear it- to scowl at her.

“Tough time?” She asked as he came within range.

“Shut up,” He grouched, shoving off another femme that tried to make a grab at his panel. The femmes around him all glared up at her, feeling challenged for their ‘prize’. MoonStrider just laughed again, it was hilarious! The tallest of them barley came up to his waist!

“Scat femmletts, this mech is mine.” MoonStrider detached one of the femmes from Megatronus’ legs before sitting her down off to the side where she wined. The femmes clutched at him more as she slowly removed a total of eight off of him. The femmes whined and held each other, MoonStrider rolled her optics. She was removing them nicely and taking care not to hurt them.

“Damn, will you quit your whining?! I made sure not to hurt you, so I know you ain’t in pain!” The femmes did indeed stop whining… but were now observing her. They were now looking at her up and down, finally taking her in and seeing her fully. Apparently they liked what they saw.

One confidant femme swayed forward before pressing herself to MoonStrider’s front with a purr.

“Or maybe you just wanted us for yourself.” Her voice was surprisingly seductive. MoonStrider looked down in surprise. The other femmes followed her lead, coming over and pressing their curvy frames to her own. Megatronus was grinning.

That aft.


	19. Chapter 18: Theif

** Chapter 18: Thief  **

MoonStrider was **not** a happy femme at the moment, and when she wasn’t happy… **_no one was happy_**. Someone had taken her crystal from her room, and she was going to kill them when she found out whom. She’d chop their fragging spike off for this! How dare they take her crystal! The femme growled, pissed off.

Someone had broken into her and Megatronus’ room and stole not only her crystal(which she held dearest to her out of the lot) they took her piano, violin, and her can of credits.

Someone was going to die.

MoonStrider had built up an amazing reputation here in the pits; every mech feared her and treated her with respect. She could send them to the infirmary with one touch, no one wanted to frag with that. So the thought of someone doing this… this was a challenge to her position on the top of the latter, a disrespectful act that stained her reputation. She would kill the mech that did this. How dare they?!

MoonStrider let out a screech, **_HOW DARE THEY!?_**

Those were her treasured possessions, and the credits she had been saving up to buy her way out of this slimy slag house! Oh, she was pissed, and seeing her shelf bare and empty added fuel to the fire.

The femme turned, electricity crackling behind her like a deadly cape. She moved out of the room, stalking down the hall. Mechs that knew her moved out of her way, dragging some of the newer gladiators out of the way. Good, she’d hate to hut the innocent mechs, but she was too pissed to care at the moment. She headed out to the training field where most mechs went in their free time. Someone had to know about this…

MoonStrider kicked the large doors open, startling a few of the closer mechs, but with the noise in the room, not all heard her thunderous entrance. The femme gladiator growled. Someone was going to **_DIE_**!

Megatronus was in the room, sparing with one of the older gladiators that had managed to survive in this pit forsaken place. He felt her enter the room, her energy lighting up his detection sensors. _What was his was in distress_. He could feel the anger in her electricity as she stalked through the room, leaving terrified, silent mechs behind her. Usually her energy was soft, just a rub on the edge of his field, affectionate and warm. Now it was crackling and hissing across his field like a cyber-cobra, ready to strike and inject its poison into any who dare to defy her. She looked quite nice this way, even if he did prefer he happy. Megatronus felt a weird little stir in the area around his waist… hm, strange.

MoonStrider moved around the field, interrogating those that looked suspicious. None of them knew anything, she made sure. If it wasn’t any of them, then who was it?!

She heard a loud laugh from the noisy side of the training field. A loud exclamation of ‘You actually did that?!’ followed. Curious… What could have worked up the newbies in such a way? MoonStrider went to investigate.

“Pff, wasn’t hard, she was never ready to handle all of… **_this_**.” An arrogant voice rose over the others as she moved closer. “She gave in really easy, you know how femmes are.” MoonStrider felt her wing twitch. They weren’t talking about… “Don’t know why the older bots are afraid of that stupid seeker femme, she spread her legs for me just fine, then I took all of those pretty trinkets of hers as trophies, whore didn’t even say a word.” The mech pulled out her crystal to try and prove his words. The mechs around him gasped at the large crystal, all doubts of his story washed away at the presence of the most fearsome femme’s prized crystal.

_Oh_

_No_

_He_

**_DIDN’T!_ **

MoonStrider held back her howl of rage as she stalked forward, her energy parting the crowds of mechs. The bots moved out of her way, gathering in a circle to watch the aft kicking that was to come. Those that knew her pulled the others out of the way. This was gonna be **_good_**.

MoonStrider saw how the mech’s face paled when he spotted her moving towards him, he subspaced the crystal as she came within firing range. The mechs around him parted slightly, but didn’t leave and going the circle that surrounded them, none of them fearing her now that they heard their bud’s story of how she submitted like a whore and pleasured him. She wasn’t as tough at the older gladiators said, stupid old fools, couldn’t even take a femme on.

 

In the surrounding circle mechs grinned… they knew what was coming. These mechlings would learn to fear the name of MoonStrider: The One Touch Killer.

 

MoonStrider glared at the mech that shamed her name and stole her belongings, deciding on whether killing him would be as satisfying before or after she beat him into a gushing pulp of metal and wire. The mech she looked upon was a dark red color, with black designs decorating his legs and chassis. She didn’t care to learn him name… no one would be able to say it after today.

“Give me my belongings back, thief” She growled out, her voice laced with power and anger. The small circle of mechs snickered, as if it was the funniest thing they had heard all evening.

“What? Want your stuff back after he fragged you senseless? Sorry to say, sugar lips, but they’re his now.” One of the mech’s buds spoke up, leering over (and up) at her. She contemplated killing him, too. MoonStrider thought for a moment before a wicket idea came into her mind.

Why not have fun with this?

MoonStrider’s face morphed into a pleasing, sultry look.

“Oh, is that so?” She swayed over to the group, putting emphasis into her walk to pop out her hips and chassis. Optics were drawn to her round curves and long legs as she moved through the group, toward the confidant looking red mech in the center. A servo brushed against her aft.

As quick as the lighting she produced, MoonStrider swung around, bringing her servo down in a sharp chop like movement… severing the mechs servo from his arm. MoonStrider turned back around, wiggling her servo as the mech fell with a pained screech behind her. That had hurt her servo. The mechs didn’t look so sure now, shifting a bit farther from her as she moving in to the red mech.

“So… you fine _hmm… **satisfaction**_ in degrading and lying about others do you?” She purred in the red mech’s audio as she circled him. She was taller than him by a few feet, the mech only standing to her chassis. Her dangerously sharp claws made scratches in his armor as she traced uncaringly around his shoulders. She moved to his front. “You disgrace my image, to gain a few laughs from your peers, you tell them I submitted” She spat the word like poison, “to gain approval from mechs who wouldn’t hesitate to stab you in the back as soon that that bell rings.” She pointed to the arena bell, which hung over the training arena, near the VIP boxes at the very top. The mechs felt a bit of fear creep into their sparks, the femme was scary up close. One of them decided to grow a bigger spike and step forward out of the group, distracting her away from the red mech who stood like a statue in the center of the circle.

“Obviously he ain’t lying, look! He got silver paint all over him! And your crystal.” The mech folded his arms as he looked at her. His look was one of ‘better-that-you-ness’ and he looked upon her frame like it was his to have at a click of his digits. MoonStrider didn’t like him.

“Of course he’s lying!” MoonStrider grinned evilly as she clicked open her panel, baring her interface for the world to see. “I still have my seals.” And indeed she did. Black sheets of metal covered both of her valves, showing and proving her story and innocence. Mechs stared in gob-smacked awe and lust at the covered femme as she clicked her panel back into place. MoonStrider grinned evilly at the looks, all of them wanted her… but none could have her. The fact that she had two valves made her all the more desirable.

Explanations were in order to understand just why that is. Well, MoonStrider had finally learned about cybertronian reproduction and ways to interface. There were three ways to interface: Valve and Spike, Plugs and ports, and Spark to spark. Spark to spark was reserved for those with bonds or those who wished to create bonds, it was very intimate and joined your life force to the others for eternity, even in death. Plugs and ports were rather common, even in public. There were a series of data ports on a bots’ sides, wrists and even some the base of the neck and on some parts of the legs, those were spots that cables that extended out just above some of the ports would plug into for the transfer of data, which was handy in transferring data or programs into another bot. But it was also pleasurable. The more data being transferred, the more pleasurable it would be. It was a bit weird to MoonStrider due to being an organic in her past life, but she deal with it. MoonStrider had also found out on her own that she could conduct currents of her energy down the lengths of her cables, which might come in handy later on in life.

Spike and valve was the messiest and most common form of interface there was. It was a lot like an organic; one bot would put his or her spike into the valve of another and create friction that would build up into an overload. Stimulation could also occur from oral or manual manipulation. One cool thing that MoonStrider learned is that ‘technically’ Cybertronians didn’t have genders. They had frame types that identified them as mechs or femmes, but that wasn’t based on whether or not they had a valve or a spike, or both! Femmes could have spikes and mechs could have valves. Having a spike and a valve was the most common arrangement that bots had, but there are those that have just a valve or just a spike. In MoonStrider’s case, she had two valves, which was unheard of until she was sparked. She guessed it had to do with her being used to having two as an organic that the data transferred over and modified her frame to fit. She didn’t mind… _double stimulation_. She’d have fun with that during her first heat cycle.

MoonStrider was snapped out of her thoughts as the mechs all looked to the red one with dark glares. The red mech sputtered.

“W-we plugged into each other!” MoonStrider made a huffing sound, walking towards him.

“Then how would you explain the security cameras showing me in the med bay while you broke into my room and stole my belongings.” She hissed, her stance turning menacing again. Sharp claws wrapped around a stiff neck, squeezing tightly and making the mech gasp as the energon was cut off from his processor. Thereactually wasn’t any security cameras in the arena, Clench was too cheap for that, but there mechs didn’t know that. She grinned, not only did she verbally injure this mech, but she was about to physically!

This mech had stolen her most treasured possessions, taking them and parading them around like trophies as he dragged her name and image in the mud and transfluid. He did it for his own gain, and she would teach him a lesson in respecting her and her fellow femmes. Setting her energy to a decent degree, she shocked the ever-loving-slag out of that fragger, toasting his wires and shoring out several cables in his chassis and legs. Mechs in the outer circle cheered while the mechs in the center all back pedaled away, desperately trying to avoid the hot arcs of electricity flying off of her frame. The mech went limp in her servos, his body going into stasis lock from pain and overcharge. She cut the electricity off and efficiently pulled her belongings from his subspace before putting them in her own.

MoonStrider sneered at the mechs around her, regaining her image as The One Touch Killer in less than a bream. She needed to do this, her reputation protected her and Megatronus from any that wished for a piece of her or him. She took the mech and hurled his limp-but still online- frame into the frames of three others that had been in the circle, knocking them off of their peds. She’d leave them alive for now; Clench would be on her aft if she did.

MoonStrider huffed, nodded to Megatronus and the mechs in the outside ring she turned and left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does anyone ever have that point in which they delay reading a chapter in a fic because they believe that they are not emotionally ready for it? Like you keep the tab open but you move onto another fic for just awhile because you know that something big is going to happen and you just are not ready for that? I sometimes wonder if anyone does that for my story~   
> Till All Are One!!~


	20. Chapter 19: Shenanigans of the Gladiatorial Kind Part

** Chapter 19: Shenanigans of the Gladiatorial Kind Part 1 **

The arena was silent. The night was cold and dreary. A shadow seemed to loom over the place, a dark promise upon those who lived there. Mechs barricaded themselves in their rooms, huddling in the corners opposite of the doors.

A cackle was heard.

Every mech shivered… They were coming…

OoOoOoOoOoO

MoonStrider snickered as she jiggled the paint canister in her servo before spraying it on the wall in front of her. Megatronus was crouched next to her, spraying the bottom of the picture onto the wall. Megatronus was concentrated on his work, his glossa pinched in between his denta as he stared at the picture in progress in front of them.

The reason they were painting the arena walls? Well, MoonStrider was fed up with the dreariness of the place, and Megatronus agreed with her. That led them to being here, spray painting the wall in the late lunar cycles. MoonStrider pulled back from picture, looking at it from a different angle. It was a landscape, Kaon from birds-eye view. It looked kind of sloppy and their art skills were questionable, but it still looked like Kaon and was a **lot** better than how the wall looked before.

“This looks like slag.” MoonStrider looked down at Megatronus, blinking her gold optics before smiling.

“Better than it did before.” She replied, Megatronus ‘humf’ed, going back to the painting. The paint went on easily, a special brand that didn’t run down and stayed for a long time. MoonStrider lightly scratched at the base of Megatronus’ neck before going back to her own half of the painting. Her lip plates pursed as she inspected an area that looked iffy. MoonStrider sprayed a light shade of silver on the spot before applying some reds and a bit of black. She was working on the area near the slums, which was darker than the rest. Megatronus was working on the arena and a few of the shops around it.

It was awhile later that they finished with the painting, both stepping back to inspect it; they were satisfied with their work. MoonStrider turned to look up at Megatronus, flicking her wings as she placed her servos on her hips.

“Well, we’re done now, how about we go and catch some recharge before the morning?” She suggested. The silver mech in front of her replied with a tired ‘yeah’ before he nudged her in the direction of their quarters. MoonStrider looped her arm around his as they walked, leaning into his warmth as she felt the effects of her delayed recharge. MoonStrider made a startled sound as she was suddenly off her peds and surrounded by big, strong silver arms. The femme blinked before scowling.

“I have peds, you know.” She informed. Megatronus walking closer to their room, deeper into the arena.

“I know that just fine, but you are falling into stasis standing.” He didn’t look down at her as he said this; he just kept walking, holding her closer. MoonStrider gave in, cuddling close to the warmth her friend gave off with a sigh. They reached their room after a short while. The door opened after MoonStrider keyed in the codes from her place in Megatronus’ arms. The door closed behind them upon entering.

Megatronus walked across the room and placed MoonStrider on their joined berth before crawling on himself. MoonStrider moved close after he got comfortable, laying her helm on the center of his chassis, right above his sparks. She sighed at the soothing sound of her mech’s strong spark. The two cuddled close, sharing each other’s warmth. Megatronus’ arms were once again wrapped around her and their legs were tangled together. She grabbed her blanket, pulling it up and over them both, but the small blanket could only cover them partially. Both sighed once again before settling completely and falling into recharge.

OoOoOoOoOoO

MoonStrider’s optics onlined, her systems booting up program-by-program as she exited recharge. She groaned and reclosed her optics, not wanting to wake up just yet. Gold optics snapped open when their owner realized she was missing her bed buddy. MoonStrider sat up looking around for Megatronus and not seeing him. A data pad caught her optics; she reached over and plucked it off the table before turning it on.

‘Wash racks, meet there.’ MoonStrider smiled at the Kaonian glyphs. She rose from the berth, pushing her blanket back. She stretched in the warm glow of her crystal, reaching far up into the air and pushing her wings out. She gave a relieved sigh as she flicked her wings and settled back down on her peds. She exited to room and headed towards the wash racks where Megatronus was waiting.

The wash racks were a public place, well… public for the gladiators. And it cost credits, just another way for Clench to suck them dry. They were wide and vacant of any form of privacy. MoonStrider hummed at the sight of the blue walls.

Twelve shower heads lined each wall, and standing under one was Megatronus…

_… Without his armor._

MoonStrider kept quiet, but the click of the wash rack lock notified him of her presence. Megatronus looked over at her, solvent and suds running down his protoform. He motioned her over as he placed the brush he had been holding in its place.

“How many credits did you enter?” She asked as she walked forward.

“Enough” was all he said as he grabbed her from around the waist. Claws moved to latches in her sides and with a ‘click’ her armor around her middle came off. Other pieces of armor came off after. Legs, wings, arms, even her helm armor. Thick wires fell out from her helm, falling down in a thick braid.

One interesting thing that cybertronians had was something similar to hair. The majority of cybertronians had it, but most chose to have it removed due to tedious upkeep. But the wires had a use; hers held extra energy that her frame converted into electricity. She preferred to bind them in a thick braid and wrap them under her armor. Without the braid, the wires would fall to the floor. They were too long and hard to fit under her helm, if they didn’t serve a use she would have cut them off long ago.

Megatronus didn’t have any wires under his helm, no, with miner job he had something different in his design. Four panels suck out from the top and sides of his helm, each engraved with glyphs. Joints in the middle and bases of the panels made them mobile, and they twitched ever so often. Megatronus had told her their use the first time he showed them to her. They were to boost the signal of miners deep underground, so that they could comm. the surface.

MoonStrider loved touching them, bending them this way and that as she inspected their every joint and wire. Megatronus always made such nice sounds when she did.

MoonStrider looked over Megatronus, marveling over his protoform.

It was silver and red, some gold here and there. His frame was still so strong looking and she could see the gears and wires move with him. He was so beautiful, even now. Though his did look thin without his armor.

MoonStrider traced the patterns in his protoform, marveling at the smoothness and warmth. She looked down at herself.

Her protoform was black and blue, different than her primarily silver armor. One could see the curves in her frame, and where armor and wires were not, bio lights filled the space. They shined gold, just like her optics and energy. MoonStrider looked to her chest plates, the armor jutted out furthest from their body, and a light shown through the cracks. Her spark.

MoonStrider grabbed a brush and applied a heavy amount of soap. She turned to Megatronus, who also had a brush full of suds, and began to scrub him.

Megatronus was a lot of mech to clean, and she was determined to get every inch of him. She moved in his seams, got the cracks in his helm and moved in between his peds. She let him clean his own interface.

Megatronus in turn cleaned her. He got that brush everywhere, and she couldn’t help but purr loudly when he hit her wings. He then made sure to go agonizingly slow over them, causing her to glare at him. She then brought her brush over to the panels on his helm, causing him to glare at her. This ascended into an all-out brawl, the two of them throwing solvent and soap at each other. Bubbles floated through the air, as did the solvent.

The two laughed smearing bubbles all over their face plates in funny ways that made them laugh harder. Truly they were sparklings at spark.

MoonStrider skid across the ground, grabbing more soap on her brush as she slid. Megatronus was not far behind, and was unable to stop himself before he plowed into her, knocking her off her peds.

“Ompf!” MoonStrider lost all air in her frame as she landed face down on the hard, living object known as Megatronus. The frame under shaked in laughter, two strong arms coming up to wrap themselves around her midsection as she looked down at the mech under her. They were still in their protoforms, but neither cared. MoonStrider looked down at the face plates of the mech that had been by her side for so long, and he looked back.

“Hello there.” He said, MoonStrider smiled and leaned back, pulling him up as she stood. She stayed close to him, rubbing against him in a seeker way of showing affection. He smiled, lightly rubbing at her wings in his own display of affection. MoonStrider laughed lightly once more before pulling back and leading Megatronus to the running solvent. The two wiped the suds off of one another, aiding the cleaning process.

After that they went to the drying room, which was just like standing in the middle of a bunch of blow-dryers. MoonStrider made a face as the air was streamed into the sensitive wires of her audios, which made Megatronus laugh and pluck at the wires. She moved around, smacking his chassis while giving him a nasty look. Aft just laughed.

MoonStrider and Megatronus helped each other with their armor, clipping them on one another. MoonStrider made sure to poke at the most sensitive places she could reach… which was all of them. Oh, Megatronus gave it back as good as she dished it out, which they became a competition to see who could poke the other more.

Megatronus won…

Finally fully armored, the two left the wash racks.

OoOoOoOoOoO

“So, what do you want to do?”

“I have no idea…”

“Me neither.”

“Yay, boredom” MoonStrider commented. The two walked down the streets of Kaon, bots giving them a wide space. Everyone knew them, feared them, even as Megatronus made stupid noises. If that didn’t say anything about their reputation, nothing did.

MoonStrider moved in front of Megatronus with a graceful twist, placing her arms behind her frame and leaning forward.

“Wanna go dancing?” She made her optics huge and pleading. She rocked on her heels, her strange tri-pod feet moving to balance her weight.

“It’s the middle of the cycle, why would anyone want to go dancing this early?” Megatronus brushed her idea off, walking past where she had stopped. MoonStrider pouted, her lip jutted out as she slumped forward in disappointment. She was quick to jump back as she moved forward and up next to him.

“Want to go walk around the Edge?” She slowly put out, looking up at him like she was the most innocent femme in the world. Megatronus’ walk slowed, and then stopped as he looked down at the ‘innocent’ femme.

“Damn you,” MoonStrider cheered as she started off in the direction of the Edge. Megatronus could never say ‘no’ to the Edge.

The Edge was… well, the edge. The edge of the city, where Kaon met the wild side of Cybertron, and where the buildings gave way to crystal trees. She and Megatronus loved going there sometimes, it was quiet and very few bots went there so they could enjoy themselves without anyone watching.

MoonStrider moved through the allies and streets, past vendors and shops, over transforming bridges and overpasses that looked down over the lower levels of the city. Megatronus was right behind her, his longer leg matching hers easily. MoonStrider smiled, there was the Edge.

The metal and crystal trees glowed lightly in the light of the early cycle; no doubt they would look even brighter later on in the cycle. Sadly there were no flowers or wild-life. Nothing could really grow well so close to Kaon, not with how much waste the city produced in a cycle. The wild-life and flowers would be farther out.

MoonStrider moved to the last building by the Edge, which was built as some sort of pub… or was it a regular shop? She didn’t know, the place was too small for her to enter.

“Ok, we’re here now, MoonStrider.” Megatronus looked rather… unexcited. Time to change that. There was a set of sonic powered hover-riders out front of the building, unprotected. The silver femme moved over to the pair of hover bikes, observing their frames.

“MoonStrider, what are you doing?! Get away from those!” _Oh, streamline, and 300 hydro-horse power…_ She continued to look over them, poking at some of the seams. There was a pop. A secret compartment opened and the jingle of keys was heard as they tumbled out and hit the ground. _Aw and they even left the keys! So considerate!_ “MoonStrider!” She bent over, grabbing the keys and standing strain. She over-looked the keys for a moment before looking at Megatronus with a grin. Jingling the keys in his direction, she hopped on one of the hover-riders. _Surprisingly their size…_ Megatronus was not amused. “And after that whole fuss about that mech stealing your stuff, you go and do this.” The mech looked truly exasperated with her, his servos were even on his hips!

MoonStrider laughed, reaching over and poking the same area of the other hover-rider, showing the keys. Well what could she say!

**_She was a hypocrite._ **

She twisted the keys, and the engine roared to life.


	21. Chapter 20: Shenanigans of the Gladiatorial kind Part 2

** Chapter 20: Shenanigans of the Gladiatorial kind Part 2 **

The forest was quiet and peaceful. The metallic and crystal trees stood tall, the crystal flowers and titanium grass moved softly in a light breeze. The air was perfumed with scent of blossoms from the trees and an energon stream not too far away. Metallic animals roamed around, plucking crunchy leafs and blossoms from trees or pulling the grass from the ground or even gaining energy from the stream. All was peaceful.

A sound, a very faint sound, was heard by the wildlife roaming. All stopped, their helms popping into the air, cone and cup like audios listening to the strange new sound. Curiosity filled their fields as the sound drew closer and closer. Too close… **_toO CLOSE!_**

Animals hopped, ran and flew away as two monsters roared past at a speed faster than they. Wind fluffed their metal fur and their optics were wide in terror as they moved as far and as fast as they could away from the monsters. But they were gone as soon as they had come, leaving only the settling leafs and a fading sound.

What were they?

OoOoOoOoOO

MoonStrider cackled as she cranked up her hover rider to the next gear, upping her speed well over any legal limit. Damn these things were fast! She threw her helm back, letting out a long howl of joy. She could just barley hear Megatronus’ laughter over the roar of the wind in her audios.

The hovering tech on the riders made it so the ride was smooth, except for the larger logs that sometimes blocked their path, but she was proud to say she got a decent air time. The path they were taking was unnaturally tree-free (besides the logs), which showed that it was either a hiking or gaming trail. MoonStrider hoped that no one was hiking at the moment; she didn’t feel like plowing down some bots.

There was another log, a large one. MoonStrider sped up, cranking the energy petal her ped rested on. A few meters from the log, MoonStrider took action, pulling her peds back and pushing down with all her weight on the rear. The front of the rider went into the air as she came up on the log, the hover tech took effect and launched her over the log and high into the air.

“Whoo!” She felt her aft leave her seat as she caught air. Her frame thumped back down in the seat as her rider leveled back out. She heard a whoop behind her as Megatronus caught air as well.

Wind whipped in her face, causing her to blink her optics to keep them from chilling too much. Megatronus pulled up next to her, his form crouched over his rider to help with wind resistance. His helm turned and he grinned widely at her, his beautiful optics twinkling with delight. She winked at him, her own golden optics shining with joy. She revved her rider, pulling ahead a bit before coming back to his side. She received a look, his lips pushing out slightly and turning upwards. His own rider was revved before he drastically sped up, leaving MoonStrider in the dust. The silver femme scoffed, her wings pulling down out of the wind as she too, sped off.

She caught up a bream later, making stupid sounds to announce her arrival. Megatronus laughed as they sped along. The scenery was nothing but a blur next to them as they traveled deeper into the wilds of Cybertron, the trees grew taller and closer together, but they stayed on the trail. MoonStrider’s face was split by the smile she was wearing, this was one of the most fun things they had ever done, even if it started with theft.

Sadly, they had to end their joyous moment, as the trees became too close together. They were still smiling as they slowed to a stop and slipped off their rides. MoonStrider skipped over to Megatronus, her arms looping around his neck as she swung slightly, his arms going around her to stop her from taking him down. They laughed; their optics closing from the size of their smiles.

They calmed down, still holding one another close. MoonStrider laid her helm against his chassis as her venting evened out. He was so warm, his fame giving out extra heat due to it trying to heat him extra when the wind chilled him.

Her audio twitched… she heard running liquid not far off.

She pulled away from Megatronus, her audios twitching madly.

“MoonStrider, what is it?” Her friend asked quietly.

“I hear a fall…” she breathed out. Oh, how she loved falls! So beautiful and pure, she loved standing under them and letting the coolant flow down her frame. She pulled on Megatronus’ servo, leading him away from the riders and into the forest. She ducked through metal trees and wild crystal underbrush towards the coolant fall. It was not a bream later that they found it.

A small fall trickled into a decent sized body of coolant, gorgeous iron and nickel trees stood next to the pond, their strong, glowing roots dipping into the coolant. Tungsten blades of grass carpeted the area, radon plants popping up here and there.

She smiled, this was amazing. She turned her helm, grinning at Megatronus before sprinting off towards the coolant pond. Megatronus made a startled sound as the silver and blue femme dived in helm first. Blue optics rolled, typical MoonStrider.

A pair of wiggly audios broke the surface of the water, followed by a chevron and helm ornaments, and finally the full helm of the femme he had come to call friend. She was grinning still, coolant falling from every crevice in her face plates and even out of her mouth a bit. His optical brow rose.

“Don’t tell me you’re drinking that nasty, contaminated stuff.” She pouted.

“I didn’t mean to! My mouth was slightly open when I dived in…” she trailed off and Megatronus threw his helm back and laughed. The coolant covered femme made a face, her features pinching inwards at the silver mech’s laughter. She whined as his laughter grew at her expression. MoonStrider continued to glare before and idea struck her and she grinned. Submerging herself, MoonStrider went to the bottom of the pond and waited. Breams passed before Megatronus did as planned, his form blocking out the light above the surface. MoonStrider maneuvered her frame so that he crouched on the bed of the pond, her legs tense and ready for action. She sprung up, exploding out of the pond in a flurry of coolant. She latched onto the mech and with a loud battle cry, pulled him in.

Megatronus kicked and thrashed as he was pulled under, his struggle causing him to kick up even more coolant as his legs went under. Nothing could be done as he sunk to the bottom, bubbles clouding his vision. The bubbles cleared, revealing MoonStrider’s smirking face. The gladiator made a face, his glossa sticking out under the coolant. MoonStrider also made a face, her digits pulling at her cheek plates as she, too, stuck out her tongue. Megatronus laughed under the water, small bubbles leaving his mouth.

The two sunk father down in the surprisingly deep pond. MoonStrider could stand on Megatronus’ shoulders and have to stretch to brush the air. Thankfully they didn’t need to breath, and could sink down and stay as long as they wished.

Megatronus looked up; the light from the cycle drifted and shimmered through the coolant, casting shadows all around. He looked to his friend, his companion, and truly saw.

MoonStrider and drifted away from him slightly, a decent space was between them, but it was small enough that all he had to do was reach forward and he could grasp her. The coolant slowed her movements, made her wings flutter slowly behind her like a pair of butterfly wings. Her gorgeous golden optics pieced through the darkness of the coolant, casting pleasing shadows over her face. She was so graceful, so confidant and strong, so intimidating and powerful, so beautiful and dangerous.

He watched her float through the coolant, his optics never leaving her. She watched how her peds kicked lightly, propelling her forward, how her arms moved and cut through the liquid that surrounded them. He watched as she maneuvered through the liquid, her frame twisting till her peds went up and her helm sunk down to the bed of the pond towards the back.

She was a marvel to look upon, an inspiring being that he could stare at for jours and forever be fascinated.

MoonStrider moved further back into the pond where the current moved from the fall. She could feel the fresher, cooler coolant flow over her sensitive wings as she entered the current. A movement caught her optics.

Metal fish… there were metal fish.

This planet was reminding her of her old home at every turn of her helm, just made of metal.

There was more than just fish, she spotted some frog like things, long and thin fish that she swore were some kind of eel. Some of them glowed, some dimly, others bright. Deep in the pond they swam, out of sight to the predators above. MoonStrider watched as some of the fish could even turn off their lights.

There were plants as well, metallic and crystalline plants that shimmered in the light from above or shined themselves. There was this type of weed that was glowing pink. She loved them.

She moved her frame through the coolant until she was right in the middle of the pink weeds and glowing fish and shimmering eels.

Megatronus would have gasped if he could. The pink lights shown from around her like a divine glow, making her appear like that of a goddess. The fish and eels and frogs and even the occasional hydro-turtle swam around her enhancing her heavenly look. He could swear that his spark could have stopped right there, he had never seen such a sight, such beauty. Why had he never seen this before? Why had he not looked upon her sooner and see the light that shown around her?

He was young, he was blind, and he was ignorant and vain. But looking at this femme that had stayed with him for so long as a close companion, as his greatest friend and comrade; looking at her… he was nothing. He was just Megatronus, looking at MoonStrider.

This was a strange feeling, so unlike him. He felt high, his helm out in the stars as his spark spun within him. His frame drifted within the coolant as she looked up at him and smiled so beautifully.

Sadly, all beautiful things must come to an end and the spell was broken as she moved from her spot on the bed of the pond. She drifted up to him, her legs kicking as the light faded behind her. A servo grabbed his, pulling him up towards the surface. Their helms broke the calm surface of the pond, coolant sputtering from their vents.

They grinned at one another as they paddled to the side of the pond. They rested on the shore, their legs still handing in the coolant.

“That was amazing!” MoonStrider breathed, coolant exiting her frame from every crack and crevice, running down her frame, making her shine as light caught the little droplets. Megatronus smiled, resting his weight on his arms.

“Yeah, it was.” They pulled their legs from the coolant and crawled onto the tungsten grass under an iron tree with crystal blossoms. They then spent the next few jours there making flower crowns.Megatronus made his from golden and blue ones and MoonStrider made hers from some sweet smelling blue and red ones, her favorite colors.

Her digits weaved stems together and pushed crystal petals into place. She hummed as she finished the last flower, completing her crown. She placed the flower crown on her helm before putting her servos in her lap and grinning as Megatronus struggled with his chain of crystal flowers.

“Here,” she giggled and reached over, coaxing a stubborn stem into place. She helped him complete his crown of crystal flowers and put it on his helm. Megatronus gave her a triumphant look as she placed the flowers on his helm.

“I am the flower king!” He puffed his chassis out and stich his olfactory sensors in the air. MoonStrider laughed, all her denta showing with the force of it.

The two sat there for a long time, till the cycle grew dark and the sky was painted with color. Tiny glowing insecticons fluttered though the air, their bodies blinking on and off like twinkling stars. They were smiling, the crystals on the trees and the flowers on their helms glowing.

It was perfect… almost magic. They just seemed to drift closer to one another, like magnets or gravity.

MoonStrider felt strange, she felt light and warm. There was a hum in her spark and mind as she stared at the mech before her. He was a sight, so strong and amazing. He was always there for her and she was there for him. They were a team, a duo that strived for the better. He was kind, he protected her and did what he thought was best for her.

Their digits brushed, she leaned against him like natural. He was nervous; she could feel it in his fields. It was ok, and she told him thus so. He smiled at her and poked at her flowers.

Servos on her helm, thumb digits brushing her cheek plates. His fore-helm touched hers, rubbing slightly. His lips pecked her own, pulling back in fear of rejection, that he had overstepped his bounds. But she followed him, grabbing at his servos and pressing them back together. It was amazing, she wouldn’t say sparks flew, but there was something. He was warm and his armor was smooth. His arms wrapped around her waist, bringing her close. His kissed became dominant and she let him.

She didn’t know how it escalated, but it did. She didn’t mind it, not even as servos began to explore, nor even when clicks of armor were heard. It was all welcomed.

**_That night, he took her seals, and she took his._ **

They lay there, tired with their legs entwined. Their arms were wound around each other tightly. Their vents roared and their frames tinged. Light smiles were on each of their faces, both thinking on what had just happened. Both felt great, amazing even.

“We have to get back.” MoonStrider whispered, her claws gently stroking over his chassis.

“Indeed we do.” They took their time, slowly moving away from the pond. Only time could tell if they would ever return.

They returned the riders, walking to the arena slowly. Words were unneeded as they walked to their room and shut the door.


	22. Chapter 21: A Promise

** Chapter 21: A Promise  **

Things were good, well; as good as they could get in the Pits of Kaon.

Things between her and Megatronus were amazing now; inseparable best friends during the light cycle, inseparable lovers in the lunar ones. They had each other’s back at all times, they even partnered up in the arena from time-to-time.

Megatronus was such a sweet spark when he wanted to be; already he had given her a series of small trinkets that she adored. A small transforming glass avian, which could hover for about a bream at a time, was one of her favorites.

One of the best things though, was how even though they were lovers now, they didn’t act any different. They still roughhoused, kicked aft in the arena, and put their fellow gladiators through pit and back on a cycle’s basis. They continued to ‘rule the roost’ as she said, dominating the arena.

And that was one of the reasons she was headed to one of the most despised places in the arena.

**_Clench’s office…_ **

Her hips swayed as she walked, her frame moving in ways it couldn’t before she lost her seals. Her time spent with Megatronus in the berth had made her adjust to her frame in ways she hadn’t noticed bothered her before. She had not been fully settled in her frame before, her mind still thinking she was what she had been before rebirth. Now, she was settled. She could move how she used to now, with such an old grace, she could almost float. There were rumors floating about that she was a noble femme before she became a gladiator, and that she was here only for kicks. MoonStrider would laugh at these accusations. Truly they were all idiots, even when they knew she had been here for vorns, they still spouted them out. She didn’t blame them though, she was very, very old in mind and with that came such a grace.

She hummed as she came upon the door to Clench’s office. Knocking upon the door thrice, she was let inside. Coming inside, MoonStrider spotted several things at once. There was trophies along the walls, but not the kind one would think of. There was an optic, a black talon from a large organic, a tooth, a set of seeker wings, and a golden rock of some sort. The sight of the seeker wings made her own twitch, Clench was a sick, twisted bastard.

“Ah, my favorite femme gladiator,” she didn’t look away from the ‘trophies’ on the wall as a voice purred from somewhere in front of her, causing a shiver of disgust to crawl up her spinal strut.

“I’m your only femme gladiator,” now she looked to him. Clench sat at a large, black desk with minimal engravings carved into the sides. Only one holocube sat on the desk, what was on it, she couldn’t tell. The one thing that seemed to be in abundance on his desk was data pads.

Clench was the same as ever, nasty red optics that seemed to crawl over her frame, a red and gold paintjob looked freshly waxed. Clench was a privileged mech, anyone could see it.

“Indeed you are, MoonStrider.” He purred once more, his optics rolling slowly down her frame.

“Clench, I am in no mood for banter. You called me for a reason; I would like to know it.” She demanded, her optics not leaving his. A smirk made its way onto the mech’s lips.

“Watch your tongue femme,” his digits came together at the tips. “But yes, I did call you here for a reason.” He studied her face as he spoke, searching for any emotion he might use against her,. He found none. She looked at him with a blank- but defiant- stare. “You’re moving up.” She blinked.”

“What?” She questioned. Moving up?

“Yes, you are moving up. You will be fighting an imported beast next orn.” Her optics widened. Very few fought those matches, and if they did fight, it was mainly for the amusement in seeing them get torn apart. Why was he putting in there?

She voiced this to him, and received a laugh as he stood.

“Why, to bring in more credits of course! With you fighting these beasts with bring many bots rolling in here, eager to see you move around, dripping in the organic’s blood. A few might wish to pay a good amount for your… personal services.” He sneered at her, his red optics staring holes into her armor, as if with one command she’d bare valve for him. Frag that.

She hissed.

“If you think I’m going to let you sell me for your own gain, well you have another think coming.” Her golden optics stared eerily into red ones, making the owner of said red ones to shiver before his resolve was reaffirmed.

“You will if I tell you to, _femme_.” He spat,” You forget I own you.” Anger filled her, filling her frame at the thought of being ‘owned’. Her servos slapped the desk, denting it. She leaned over it and over the much smaller mech.

“And you forget that I could kill you right now, and no one would care.” She hissed as she loomed over him. Clench moved back a bit, fear trickling through his frame and field before he glared up at her.

“You would care when Megatronus takes your place.” His voice was low and dangerous; it was no threat, but a promise. The anger didn’t leave her, but she backed off at his words. She could not put Megatronus’ helm on the block just so she could get out of this ordeal. But it didn’t stop her from glaring hatefully at the mech before her.

Seeing her weakness, Clench grasped at her adoration of the other gladiator like a lifeline, using it against her. Using it to control her.

“Now, _femme_ ,” he sat back down,” You will be fighting next orn against the beast.” He hummed out his words, pleased with himself.

“Terms?”

“You will get 10 percent of all profits will go to you.” MoonStrider’s optics widened as her optical brows rose. From what she heard, these matches against the organic beasts are one of the main attractions of the arena, coupled with her femme attraction, 10 percent would be quite the sum of credits. “You will get your match dates from Turboshift. That is all.” The dismissal was clear and with an abrupt about-face, she left his office.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

The rest of the cycle was dull; she had not matches and didn’t feel like beating up a training dummy. Megatronus was occupied with One knows what, so that ruled out any help from him. MoonStrider sighed as she lied on her and Megatronus’ joined berth. She was utterly bored.

What to do, what to do…

Music

MoonStrider stood from where she had ungracefully draped herself and walked to her shelf, grabbing her electric piano and one of her data pads she sat back down. With a click of a button on the side, the data pad sprung to life. Notes scrawled over the screen, each written on four lines with strange symbols at the end of each. Some had strange markings above them, others had them below. Curving lines connected some. Of course MoonStrider know what each and every one of these strange symbols was named and what they meant.

Her digits moved over the keys, playing what was written in the data pad. Every once and awhile she would stop and write something down. She would hum out specific parts or sing it out with ‘ba’s or ‘do’s.

“Bo-do Bow Bow! Nope, that’s not it,” She used to end of her stylus to erase the part she had just written down. Slapping a beat on her legs, she nodded before jotting it down. She stared intently at the screen as she played the tune she just wrote.

‘CLAND CLANG CLANG!’

“MoonStrider!” Her helm snapped up and she went quickly to the door. The bot continued banging on her door loudly. Pinging the door, it opened with a ‘whoosh’. There stood Turboshift, looking quite frazzled. His optics were wide, looking at her in panic and worry. And all he had to say was one word.

“ ** _Megatronus…”_**

**(AN: WHAT IF I STOPPED RIGHT HERE!? HOW MUCH WHOULD YOU HATE ME?!?!)**

She took off; tearing down the halls at a speed raced could only hope to match. Her thrusters ignited, pushing her forward even faster. Bots were forewarned to stay out of the halls or be plowed over.

Panic was in her spark. What had happened to her Megatronus? Was he injured? What if he was hurt!? Nothing but the worse would have Turboshift looking like that, he’s seen too much. What could have made him look like that? Made him come to her… Megatronus had wounds before, he never came. Wait…

How would he get that wound? He didn’t have a match…

She ran to the arena. Bots were leaving the area, a sigh that a match just ended. She slowed, ducking through bots on her way to the doors leading into the arena; getting through them only made her spark spin fast in panic. There was chatter of a defeat…

She threw the doors open, running into the arena. Growls were heard in the distance, the smell of energon was heavy in the air. There had been an organic beast fight

**_Clench, you son of a bitch_ **

There he was, Megatronus. He was on the ground, covered in energon, a large gash in his chassis. One of his legs was crushed, half his face was nothing but scratch marks, she couldn’t even see where his optic was supposed to go. A mangled stump was where his right forearm should be.

She moved forward, her peds splashing in the puddles of energon, of **his** energon. She kneeled down beside him, servos coming up to cup his face plates, somewhere he had lost his helm, his transmission panels showing.

“Megatronus,” she whispered sorrowfully. He was unconscious, energon loss and pain sending him into stasis. She commed Turmoil, telling him to come to the arena.

He wouldn’t be able to fix him entirely.

Her spark whined in sorrow for her Megatronus.

Her fore-helm brushed against his, she kissed his cheek and clenched her denta. Her Megatronus was hurt, because he was put in a fight he was nowhere near ready for… and it was her fault. She vented sharply. She should have kept her mouth shut around Clench no matter what he had said, but she hadn’t, and her lover paid for it.

Turmoil had come, and did what he could. He could fix the leaks, but not much more. He was no longer dying so quickly, but he didn’t have long. Turmoil predicted that he had an orn, two at best. She thanked him and he left them.

He would not wake up…

“I’m so sorry.”


	23. Chapter 22: Please Help

** Chapter 22: Please Help **

MoonStrider stared at the mech on the berth before her. He was hooked up to a makeshift energon drip that she scrounged up out of Turmoil’s Med Bay. She could hear his labored venting, his fans straining to cool his overheated frame. The damage was still horrendous, scratches and deep lacerations all down his frame. He was missing half an arm, an optic, and his left leg was crushed. She had managed to clean the energon off his frame, exposing the wounds that she had not seen before.

Her legs were pulled up to her pointed chin, her arms wrapped around them tightly as she watched him. She had not moved, she had not recharged, and she had not refueled. Turmoil said he had an orn to live…

…It had been 3 cycles.

She had 11 cycles till his spark could no longer take the strain his frame was currently putting him through. She had to think of a plan, but nothing came to mind. No mech in Kaon had the experience to fix wounds like his. All they had were rejects, mechs that had lost their license. Best she could do is take him to one of those mad scientists. But the chance of them doing something unsavory was too great.

She sighed, burying her helm in her arms. _She didn’t want to lose him._

Where could she go? **Megatronus was dying**! What could she do, no one in Kaon could-

Her helm snapped up

**_No one in Kaon_ **

**OoOoOoOoOoOoO**

“ _Ship 24 is leaving for Iacon in approximately 2.54 breams.”_ A voice called over a speaker on a pole not far away. MoonStrider moved through the crowd, leading Megatronus’ frame through the bots coming and going to the ships.

How was she leading an unconscious mech around and why? Well, it was difficult to explain.

Earlier in the cycle she had come to a conclusion that if she could not find a real doctor in Kaon, she’d just have to go somewhere else. Like Iacon.

She had found a clinic in Iacon where she could go and get him repaired, hopefully no questions asked.

Now, how she was moving him around was much more difficult to explain, but the basic line of it was that she plugged into him. Yes, she plugged into him, her cables went into his ports and vice versa, and through this she could get into his systems; specifically his motor systems. She had an old, tattered mesh cloth around them, hiding the cables and Megatronus’ damaged frame. His whole frame was on her, all of his weight supported by her smaller frame. Sadly you needed more than just motor functions to hold up a mech. But at least she got him moving better. She was standing on his left side, holing up his damaged leg as the cover hid his missing right forearm.

To others, they just looked like a couple of tired bots. But truthfully, it was one tired, struggling femme and an unconscious mech resting on her shoulder.

Her tired but powerful frame moved through the crowd towards ship 24. She handed her tickets to the mech standing out front, they were scanned and she was let on. She found a large seat far in the back, positioned so she could see the exits and easily be able to defend Megatronus. She maneuvered his frame, placing him in first before sitting herself. MoonStrider sighed with relief as the ship was boarded with other bots then left port. All she had to do was wait.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoO**

“ _Arriving in Iacon in .6 breams_.” The voice called over the speakers, announcing their approaching destination. MoonStrider hummed, rerouting Megatronus’ motor functions in preparation for movement. His systems hummed, accepting her presence. His systems knew hers, due to their couplings, which made it far easier and unpainful to control.

The ship docked, and she stood. She was the last to exit the ship.

**_And she stepped into Iacon for the first time in over 20 thousand years…_ **

“Come on,” She murmured to the unconscious mech, not that it would do any good, but for her own comfort. She walked his body through the lower levels, up to where the higher, medical cast lived. Bots gave them strange looks, very strange looks. Many of them were in scorn, disgust covering their features as they gazed at them. MoonStrider was not surprised by this, but it took quite a bit of will-power not to sneer back.

She moved a bit faster, noticing that she was reaching her destination. She was tired, and desperate to get her Megatronus some help. She wouldn’t doubt that this trip had put an even greater strain on his frame, and lowered this time to live. She had to hurry. She felt the toll of her low energy consumption, how her tanks were empty and running on fumes. She had put all she could into Megatronus, not sparing any for herself. He needed it far more than she did.

There it was, a small worn clinic tucked in between two taller spires. She smiled as she heaved her lover’s body towards the clinic. A snap was heard, and she toppled to the ground.

“Frag!” Megatronus’ damaged leg had just snapped off below the shin. Energon leaked fast and she felt his pain through the connections. Bypassing his firewalls, she shut off his sensory nodes for his whole leg and rerouted the energon to flow into another set of tubes so that he would not leak as much. She grabbed the fallen leg and hauled his frame up. Even deep into stasis, Megatronus grunted at the pain. She guessed she missed a few nodes, but it could not be helped.

The doors opened with a ‘swoosh’ as she stumbled through. The clinic smelled of disinfectant, and looked it, too. White metal walls, a small waiting area off to the right, a reception desk straight in front of them. A set of doors led into the back. Sitting at the reception desk was a purple femme. She looked up with a smile on her face only for it to disappear at the sight of them.

“Yes?” Her voice was dripping in displeasure, her optics scrunched up at the sight of them.

“I need a medic,” she said, her voice airy from exhaustion. The purple femme hummed.

“He’s busy,” She informed, but she was lying.

“Please, I need to see him, it’s an emergency.” She was desperate, she could feel Megatronus’ systems slowing.

“Sorry, but he is not available.”

“I need to see him-!”

“HE… doesn’t serve **_your_** kind” The purple femme sneered angrily at them. MoonStrider glared, they were being turned away… because they were of a lower cast. Her golden optics stared eerily into the femme’s blue ones, anger and frustration shining deeply in them. The femme shifted uncomfortably under her gaze, fighting under that strong gaze. “Now… if you would please le-“

“Lilac? What’s with the racket?! I’m trying to work!” A red and white bot emerged from the back rooms. He was shorter than MoonStrider, coming up to just below her chassis. His red chevron gleamed as did his bright blue optics. A medical symbol was painted onto his shoulders, showing his professional level of schooling. A large, imposing wrench was clutched in his right servo as he stomped forward. He caught sight of them, his optical brows raising in question before he caught sight of his shameful looking secretary. He gave her a knowing look.

“What have I said about turning bots away?” He rumbled, a dangerous look gleaming though his optics. The purple femme, Lilac, cowered away.

“But Sir, they’re from Kaon-“ She protested weakly.

“I DON’T CARE IF THEY WERE FROM THE WASTES!” He roared, looking very angry. The femme ‘eep’ed before ducking under her desk. MoonStrider looked to the medic, and he noticed. “This isn’t the first time she’s pulled scrap like this. This clinic accepts all casts.” He grouched, MoonStrider nodded.

“Please, he needs help.” She pleaded, “He’s dying…” The red and white medic moved quickly forward, comm.ing someone.

“I need the largest table out in the lobby.” He pulled back the mesh, then cursed enough to make her raise and optical ridge. A rolling berth was pushed through the back doors by another red and white bot. This one had a face mask, and his color red was darker than the one right in front of her, whose paint was a bit orange tinted. “First Aid, here!”

‘First Aid’ did as the other commanded, pushing the large berth over to them. MoonStrider heaved Megatronus’ frame onto the still too-small berth. The cables connecting them were drawn taunt as she leaned over him, pushing his broken legs onto the berth as much as possible. The first medic plucked at the cables, a clear order to disconnect. She drew her consciousness out of Megatronus as fast as she could without hurting them before doing so, each disconnecting with a hiss and crackle. She blinked at the crackle; she had been feeding his frame her energy subconsciously.

She looked at her lover and friend once again, he looked awful. The tears in his frame were huge, and few had started to leak once again, he was missing half an arm and leg (which she still held in her servo). His frame was covered in perspiration as his systems overheated the air around him.

MoonStrider followed the two medics as they pushed Megatronus into the back rooms. The hall they entered was silver, lined with doors that lead into separate rooms meant for housing injured bots. Megatronus was wheeled into the first room, which was the largest and meant for surgery and repair. The first medic was a fury around the room, collecting welders and wires and scrap metal. First aid came to her, informing her to wait in the lobby until they could get him stabilized. She nodded, not feeling up to arguing, and handed him the leg before leaving.

She sat in the waiting area of the lobby, not really thinking of anything. The purple femme at the secretary desk would glance over at her from time to time with a frown, but she ignored her. She had been feeding Megatronus energy through her cables; she had not known she could do that. Her servos reached up and unclasped the armor of her helm, letting the braded cables fall down. The gold lights on them were dim, showing her just how low she really was. She tugged on them a bit before undoing the braid. If she counted there would be 12 cables in all, each big enough for her to wrap her servo around, four cables went into each strand of the braid as she unbraided and rebraided it several times.

 _Clench… Clench had done this_ , she though bitterly. That son of a glitch… why? Yes, she know she had quite the mouth on her, but she didn’t think she had done enough to gain this sort of punishment. Clench had said that if she didn’t do it, Megatronus would take her place. But why would he do it after she agreed to fight?

**_Or maybe… he was meant to fight even before she went to his office._ **

She hissed, that bastard had already sent Megatronus to fight before she had even got there! She tugged hard on the cables as she seethed. He would pay, oh how he would pay! He thought he owned her, but he didn’t! She would kill him if it was the last thing she’d do!

Her dark, promising thought were interrupted by the back doors opening and the first medic stepping though. He spotted her and walked over.

“He’s stable,” he informed the relieved femme. “But he’s in bad shape; I’m going to need him here for a few orns.” MoonStrider choked, that wasn’t good.

Megatronus had to be back before Clench realized they were gone, she had left the arena on an off cycle for both of them. Megatronus had a match the next cycle, and the one after that. She had taken his place before in the ring, but if he didn’t at least make and appearance to tell of her substitution, the others would find out. How was she to cover for them both? Megatronus would be hunted down if he didn’t show up at the ring tomorrow…

She nodded to the medic, “That is ok,” she’d figure something out…

The medic handed her a data pad, and on it was a number… a very high number.

“This is the expense of his care,” MoonStrider choked. “Now I know it is difficult to obtain credits in the lower casts, so there is the basic number of credits I need to at least get the supplies to fix him. I will at least need that, the other credits are… unneeded.” The silver femme nodded dumbly.

That was a lot more that what she had left of her savings. She pulled out a card, looking at it for a moment before handing it to the red and white medic.

“There is what I have at the moment; I shall get the rest to you as soon as I can.” She informed before subspacing the data pad. The medic took out several other data pads before handing them to her.

“I need you to sign these,” She did as he told and handed them back. The medic looked over the information and hummed. “MoonStrider is your designation,” he stated.

“Yes.”

“Well, I’m Ratchet.” The medic held a servo out, which she firmly grasped.

“Pleasure,” her voice was soft and Ratchet snorted.

“Not for long,” He mumbled before turning and exiting the room. MoonStrider sighed as she placed her helm into her servos. What was she to do? An idea struck her, she didn’t like it too much, but it was better than her other alternatives. Trusting that the medics would do their job and keep Megatronus alive, MoonStrider stood and left the clinic.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

It had been so long since she had been in Iacon; she had forgotten just how loud it was. Organized chaos, that’s what it was. The bots bustling around the merchants with their vendors, yelling and screaming to friends or family, she was quite stunned for a moment. Waving off her astonishment, MoonStrider simply lowered her audio intake and walked to a vendor. Bots looked at her, they always looked at her. Some with lust, some scorn, others simply sneered then continued on their way. It was nothing she wasn’t used to.

The vendor she went to had an assortment of things, and it was there that she was able to sell her electric piano, which she had subspaced before leaving for Iacon. She got a decent amount of credits, but not enough. Traveling to another vendor, she sold off her Helix-Violin, which yielded the same results. She sighed in defeat; the only things she had left were her blanket and crystal. She did not wish to part with either of them, for sentimental reasoning. Her blanket had been given to her by her creators, and had her designation stitched onto it. The crystal had been given to her by that one gold bot, but had been a source of comfort for so long that she sworn a piece of herself was in it.

She walked slowly to the next vendor, she needed a lot of credits to pay off Megatronus’ medical bill and this was her last shot. She pulled her blanket out of subspace, running the not-so-alien cloth between her digits. She was sad to part with it, her last memento of her creators: Seajump and Thundergouge.

“What can I do for you, Miss?”

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

“Here you are, Ratchet.” The red and white medic took the card from her servos and looked down at the amount flashing on its tiny screen.

“This is more than what we asked for,” He stated with a raised optical brow. The femme nodded.

“I know. Use all you need to fix him.” Ratchet looked at her strongly before accepting and placing the card on a desk close by. The two spoke of Megatronus’ condition; he was stable, but still unconscious and would remain so for some time. His leg was reattached, but he needed a new servo and optic. MoonStrider was able to provide the credits needed to get a good servo and optic.

MoonStrider stayed with Megatronus all cycle, unable to recharge. The only fuel she consumed was the cube Ratchet forced her to. She found out just how strong his ire was when the health of someone was at stake. That wrench of his hurt like a glitch.

Sadly, MoonStrider had to go back to Kaon and cover for Megatronus… somehow. She left in the early jours of the cycle, and flew back to Kaon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (AN: Dun dun DUN! Another chapter for all you lovely readers! I know many of you were just dying to know if Megatronus lived or not, so here you are. Many people thought he would die, which is strange. Well, Megatronus becomes Megatron and starts the war, so if he were to die now, there would be no war and many things would not happen.  
> Till all are One!!~


	24. Chapter 23: Covering

** Chapter 23: Covering  **

The crowd cheered a defeating roar that echoed far past the arena, bots standing and chanting a single name as they threw small credits, crystal flowers, and even some comm. numbers. Below in the field stood a gladiator, his frame covered in blue and red life-fluids. His ped stood on the skull of the dead beast he had just defeated, his blade still stuck in its cranium. His large silver arm was in the air in victory as the crowd chanted a name.

“ ** _Megatronus! Megatronus!”_** it was defeating, but the mech did not smile, nor did he frown. His face was blank of any emotion, even as they cheered. It was eerie, and sent a trill of unease throughout the audience, but the feeling was brushed aside as the match went on.

The mech had walked out of the field slowly, as if he was uncomfortable in his frame. But it had vanished as the beast was released from its confines. The mech had fought the best with such ferocity that it had stunned the crowd into silence for all of three nanoclicks before the loud cheering started. He had ducked, twirled, and dodged everything the spiked beast had given him. He moved unlike anything they had ever seen him do before. Much better than his last match.

When he defeated the best, the crowd had let loose a cry that could have awoken the Undermaker himself.

So there the mech was now, pulling his sword from the beast’s skull. It came loose with a ‘squelch’, covered in sticky pink tissue and red fluid. A soft noise of disgust was heard from the mech before no more. His large silver shoulders shifted before he turned and left the arena.

He did not talk to anyone, nor did he even acknowledge their existence as he made his way back to his quarters. Thankfully it wasn’t a long walk and the silver and red gladiator reached his designation.

Entering the room and closing the door, the mech’s posture changed completely. He walked forward with a blank face and sat on the berth, back slightly slouched it what appeared to be exhaustion. But his expression never changed.

A servo reached up to that blank face, claws dipping into an area below the chin. A click was heard, and he grabbed his chin.

… ** _And pulled his face off_**

Blue optics disappeared as the face slipped downwards into the mech’s servos. But under the face, it was revealed not to be a mech at all.

Fine, pointed features sat misplaced on this mech’s frame. Full lips were seen with a strange nasal ridge in between them that seemed to extend up into the helm. The being in the mech body reached up and pulled off the helm, revealing even more strange features. A pair of fin-like audios flicked in freedom.

MoonStrider sighed in relief as she stretched her sore neck cables; that armor smith didn’t really think on how heavy that helm was. She groaned this time as she removed the shoulder armor, that was the area with the most weight and it pulled her shoulders down so hard she’d thought they’d have fallen off. Slowly she relieved the clasps of the armor, emerging out of it like a butterfly out of her cocoon.

She stood as she shed the armor, pulling pieces off her legs and arms, armor clamps ‘click’ing off and falling to the floor. Her wings stretched out fully, waving around for a moment to work the gears. She piled the armor into a carry box, heaving the heavy metal into their correct places then shutting the lid. The silver femme wilted in exhaustion, she had not recharged well in the past few cycles, not with all the matches she had to fight. Who knew that they had so many beasts to fight? And with her taking on both her and Megatronus’ fights, she was a klick from going into stasis.

MoonStrider sat. She looked to the celling her red optics blinking. Reaching with her own claws, she tapped on the sides of her helm next to her optics. Continuing to blink rapidly, her optics faded back to their usual gold.

The tired femme stretched once more before laying bck upon her berth. She sighed, it was cold without Megatronus. And with that, MoonStrider fell into a restless recharge.

OoOoOoOoO

**_ Earlier… _ **

MoonStrider walked down the streets of Kaon. She had just gotten back from Iacon, and was in a sour mood. Pedestrians gave her a wide berth, trying to get away from that flaring field full of anger. Her gold optics stared harshly into the area in front of her, making other flinch it landed on them. One could taste the electrical charge that surrounded her like a storm cloud, casting her doom and gloom upon those around her.

She still didn’t have a good idea as to how she was going to cover for her and Megatronus. She couldn’t think of anything, her helm was too clouded with worry and rage! She wanted to hit something! She wanted to unleash her rage and worry on something with her energy, to thunder out her frustration with bolts of electricity.

But she couldn’t, she wouldn’t.

MoonStrider sighed, a heavy weight pulling her shoulders down. What could she do?

A memory popped up in her processor, about the time she went to the music shop for the first time with Megatronus. She had seen something: a sign. MoonStrider’s helm snapped up.

**_She knew what to do._ **

MoonStrider abruptly turned on her heel and marched her way to the music store, knowing what she was looking for was around there. It wasn’t long before the store came within sight, but she didn’t enter, looking at the stores around it for familiar barred windows.

The armor shop.

MoonStrider walked into the shop, the door opening with a ‘ping’: signaling her entry. The store was small, and the seeker femme had to duck in order not to scrape her helm on the ceiling. Bits and pieces of armor stacked the shelves, many just small things one would add to look cooler of more appealing to the optics.

Her golden optics scanned the area, her scanners showing someone in the back. She walked over to a counter, waving her hand over the sensor to signal assistance was needed. She heard a soft bell sound off in the back, then some light ped steps. A small black mech appeared.

He was an older model, dating back a few thousand vorns, which was impressive. His optics was the color red and his helm only came up to her hip. The mech appeared to have a special mod on his servos, causing the seams to look like they were filled with some sort of special rubber that moved easily. His servos looked especially tough, with worn edges and completely void of any paint.

“Yesh?” He rumbled in a thick Kaonian accent. MoonStrider looked straight into his optics, her gaze unmoving and strong.

“I need armor, custom made.” The mech’s optics took a bored tint.

“Let me guess: thin, few clasps, with little to no modesty?” He spoke as if he’d been told those things a million and one times. MoonStrider didn’t take it as an insult, when it was clearly not.

“No,” he looked a bit surprised now. “My armor is going to be a bit… different than normal.” He looked very interested now.

“What is it then?” He inquired. The femme looked pointedly around her, and the mech nodded his helm towards the back. She followed him back as he led her to a privet room with a large couch. A waiting room or maybe a fitting room? The mech took a seat on a chair as she sat on the couch: the only bit of furniture that could accommodate her size. She got straight to it.

“I need a special set of armor,” She stated orotundly. “But before I place my order, I need confidentiality contract between us.” The mech looked so interested that he even grasped a data pad with just what she needed on it. He had done this before; good, he knew the drill. She looked over the contract and signed it when she was satisfied.

She then explained to him in great detail what she needed and why, providing specs and measurements that he would need. The black mech looked delighted, happy to have such a challenge. He then took his own measurements and provided her with an estimated time. He introduced himself as Faber.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Over the orn Megatronus was in Iacon, Faber became a good friend of MoonStrider and she would visit him every cycle to get the kinks worked out of her shell-armor. He was a rather pleasant mech and seemed to take a liking to MoonStrider, almost like a grand-creator would. She smiled at this; he had been a good mech to have around during this difficult time. She found that she liked his dry humor and his fretting. When she had asked why he worried about her he told her that he had no sparklings of his own and he guessed his ‘fragging-glitching-rust-infested coding’ adapted her into his programing and named her kin. She was rather humbled by this and had rubbed her wings against him, marking him with her scent to signal to others that he was under her protection. He had batted her away with a false irritated face.

MoonStrider smiled a bit from where she was laying, her optics opening from where she had fallen into recharge. The smile slid off her face like a landslide as she got a ping signaling that she had not one, not two, but **_three_** matches this cycle. MoonStrider huffed a sigh and sat up.

“Time to fight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (AN: I had been planning this for like… EVER! I am slightly unsure, but I think we are going to be seeing MoonStrider as Megatronus quite a bit. Whether to sneak around or just to piss people off.   
> Ok, if you read my other story “The Authoress” I would suggest you be cautious, there will be references to this story in it, which mean, you guessed it “Spoilers!” So yeah, be careful, I’ll put warnings at the beginning of the chapters of that story that tell if it has spoilers or not.   
> Till All Are One!!~


	25. Chapter 24: He's Ok

** Chapter 24: He’s Ok **

** (Rated M at the end) **

MoonStrider hummed, shrugging under the weight of her shell. The shoulders were still hurting, the weight still sitting heavy on her shoulders. She was currently with Faber, getting the armor adjusted better.

“Take out your lenses, I need to fix the coloration.” Faber poked and prodded at her armored form, jotting down a note or two on a data pad. Looking up, MoonStrider reached up and lightly touched the sides of her optics before peeling off a clear lens. She handed over the lenses to Faber, who placed them in a clear solution on the table.

“Will I be able to move the face plates soon?” She asked, but the mask over he face remaining unmoving. Faber shook his helm.

“Faceplates are far more complicated than other parts of your armor. There are dozens of rotary gears under your face plates, I’d have to connect all of them separately.” Faber poked a few more places before telling her to remove the armor. “I’ll make the adjustments and get it back to you by next cycle.” Good, she didn’t have a match for the next 4 cycles.

She was planning to visit Megatronus this cycle, she was flying over once she was done here. Ratchet had contacted her earlier this cycle to tell her that Megatronus had regained consciousness and had been non-stop asking for her. He had actually yell at her to “Get her aft over here of he’d shove a wrench up it”. She had found it very amusing.

“The shoulders are still heavy, is there any way to fix that?” She asked bending over the data pad he had scribbled on.

“Not unless you want to have a weak spot. I would suggest you gain some strength in your shoulders, you are going to need it.” MoonStrider nodded and said her goodbyes to Faber. She exited the armor shop and headed to the edge of Kaon.

Sadly she had to pass that one brothel, where she had gained quite a number of admirers. The femmes and mechs chirped at her, waving and calling her over. She smiled at them, but continued on. The sounds of their disappointment could be heard from behind her as she walked to the edge of Kaon. She made it there a few breams later and found a vacant spot where she could transform.

She jumped into the air, initiating her transformation sequence.

It was easy, like riding a bike. She could just do it. She could feel the shift of metal plates moving in and around, shifting into another form. A sleek, cybertronian jet with thick, stream-lined wings took her place. Her alt-mode was fast, and easy to maneuver due to the double set of wings she had.

She could feel the air under her wings, it felt so good. She relished in the feeling of the air around her, feeling her form cut through the air as her powerful thrusters pushed her though her air. She hummed in happiness, twirling and diving through the air with ease. She didn’t get to fly a lot, it drove her crazy most of the time, but it was a drain on her energon so she had to coupe.

She felt so free, she had forgotten her troubles on the ground, and it was just her and the skies.

Sadly, her trip was short and she reached Iacon within the second jour.

She landed on the outskirts of Iacon, where the lower levels opened to the sky. She landed on the edge, looking down at the under-city of Iacon. Ratchet’s clinic was on the surface, but it was still in the rougher areas, so she didn’t need to go down there. It was fascinating though, to look down at the lower levels and to wonder how many there were under it. One day she’d find out.

She left after a moment, heading towards the slums of the upper level, where the lower-casted bots lived. She walked with her helm held high, and few tried to approach her. Those that did were batted off or ignored. This one mech though he could just take her home. He quickly found out how wrong he was.

MoonStrider made it to Ratchet’s clinic and entered, heading straight to the back. Ratchet walked out of one of the rooms just as she entered the hall, a look of annoyed relief on his face.

“Finally! Get your aft in there and tell him to shut the frag up!” Ratchet grouched, pointing to a door at the end of the hall. MoonStrider smiled wide, laughing at the medic’s attitude. She thanked him, bumping her helm slightly against his in a show of thanks. The medic grumbled, waving her off before disappearing into one of the side rooms. She moved down the hall and entered the room at the end.

Her smile grew soft as she spotted her Megatronus, lying on the berth with a data pad in his servos, looking bored. His damage was completely gone, save for the cosmetic damage to his paint job. His arm was looking the fine, but the armor looked a bit different. Well, she didn’t blame Ratchet for not getting 100 percent accuracy, especially when Megatronus had been dying.

She hummed, announcing her arrival. Megatronus’ helm snapped over, her optics showing delight when he was her.

“Strides,” He spoke, trying to stand but falling back with a pained grunt. She moved over quickly, pushing him back down and sitting next to him. Two strong arms wrapped around her waist tightly, holding her close to the owner’s frame snuggly. Megatronus’ helm rested over her spark as he held her close. She took note that his movements were slow; he was more than likely very sore from his previous damage.

She curled close, carful of his tender frame. She was so relieved: her Megatronus was ok. She had been so scared; she was worried he would die. Her claws traced over small parts of his helm in a soothing motion. They stayed that way for several breams, holding each other close. Megatronus pulled back first.

“Where are we, Strider?” He asked, tilting his helm in question.

“Iacon,” She informed.

“And how did we get to Iacon?”

“A ship,” she replied slowly, unsure how he would react. Tickets were not cheap. Megatronus looked around at the medical bay he was currently in, his optics narrowing.

“We are in a medical bay, in Iacon.” He restated. MoonStrider smiled.

“Your processor must be damaged for you to repeat the information I just gave you.” She spoke, prodding lightly at the back of his helm for emphasis. He glared up at her.

“How did you get enough credits?” He demanded, glaring up at her. Damn it, she hoped that he would overlook that part… She sighed, she had to tell him.

“A… variety of ways…” She mumbled, reluctant to tell him. Megatronus’ bright blue optics widened comically.

“You didn’t…” He asked in a choked voice. Her face scrunched up and she gave a good ‘thwack’ to the back of his helm.

“NOT THAT, IDIOT!” Megatronus though she had “sold” herself. She rolled her optics, scowling down at the moron she put up with.

“Well, what else was I supposed to think?! That you joined the circus!?” He snapped back, holding the back of his helm.

“That’s a far more probable occurrence than me fragging for credits!” She yelled, scowling at the thought. She was a seeker, she had standards.

“Well then what _did_ you do?” he grumbled. MoonStrider’s scowl melted into a cautious look.

“Um…” she twiddled her thumbs as he stared her down, his gaze intense. Damn those baby blues! Her walls could never hold against such an OP attack!! She groaned, her helm lolling off to one side to look at him.

“I might have… used my free account…”

He exploded, almost literally.

“ ** _YOU STUPID FEMME! THAT WAS THE CREDITS YOU WERE GOING TO USE TO BUY YOUR FREEDOM! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!”_** He roared, vaulting off of his berth and knocking her to the floor. She landed with an ‘omph!’ right on her aft, blinking in surprise before standing and getting in his face.

“WELL WHAT ELSE WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO?! YOU WERE DYING!” She thundered back, her chest puffing up as she unconsciously tried to make herself look bigger.

“NOT THROW AWAY YOUR FREEDOM ON SOME UNNEEDED MEDICAL TREATMENT!”

“YOU. WERE. DYING!!”

“I DON’T CARE!” He roared, moving forward and grabbing her firmly by the shoulders, her voice lowering as he spoke next. “Your future depended on those credits, MoonStrider. Your future is worth far more than me.” He spoke lowly, bending slightly to look her straight into the optics. She looked at him sadly, her wings drooping as she leaned forward. Their foreheads touched.

“I don’t want a future without you in it…” She whispered, showing a rare moment of vulnerability. She closed her optics as he brought her close, burying her helm in the crook of his neck, smelling his familiar, comforting scent. They stood there; the only sounds were their systems running.

“You scared me…” she whispered wobbly.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered back.

“You were _dying_ …”

“I’m sorry”

“Don’t you ever, **_ever_** do that to me again!” She commanded harshly, thumping him on the chest. He continued apologizing, even as her field crashed against his, wrapping around his and meshing into one as she tried to get as close to him as possible. Megatronus sat them down, his frame needing rest after such strain on his healing frame. He kept her close, his arms wrapping firmly around her shoulders and lower back. He was carful of her wings, holding her just above and just below them. Her legs wrapped around his waist, her arms around his neck because his shoulders were too damn wide for her to reach around comfortably.

“Femme…” He sighed, resting his chin on top of her helm as he relaxed. His blue optics closed. He had really scared her, he could tell.

Megatronus had been in a bad situation. He had gone to Clench’s office when he was summoned and had been told he was to fight in the next beast match. Megatronus knew he wasn’t ready for such a fight and had voiced so to Clench. His concerns fell on deaf audios. Clench didn’t give a turbo-rat’s aft if he was ready or not, he only cared about the profits. He was instructed to fight, or MoonStrider would have to. He went into the ring, and he lost. Now he was here, a distraught MoonStrider held tightly in his arms.

Later, Megatronus would find out about MoonStrider’s encounter with Clench, and how she was already fighting the beasts. He’d be so pissed that he’d punch through a wall, making MoonStrider yell at him and apologize to the gladiators living the quarters next to theirs. They would have a Megatronus-fist-sized hole in their wall, too.

But for now he would just sit there with her in his arms, content in the little med bay in a city so different than his home.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Megatronus was brought back to Kaon, and he found out about MoonStrider’s fighting and how she even fought his matches. Everything happened as it was predicted, and MoonStrider was still apologizing to the mech next door, who grumbled but waved her off. She welded on a piece of metal for privacy before as Megatronus huffed on the berth.

“Can’t believe that creation-of-a-glitch, I’ll kill him, I swear it!” He growled from where he sat, hissing and mumbling ideas of Clench’s upcoming demise. MoonStrider smiled from where she was, welding on the last side of the metal patch, which she would fix later after she dealt with her angered mech.

She was just glad to have him back. His mouth was running so that was a good sign that he’d be fully mobile soon. She smiled at his curses and death threats. Placing the welder down she walked over to where he sat and plopped down on his lap, her curves pressing nicely into his frame. It did as she intended and he quieted down, distracted by the delectable frame that now occupied his lap. His servos glided over her sides as she wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling herself close to him.

“Hmm, what were you saying?” She hummed airily, brushing the side of her face to his.

“Don’t remember…” He didn’t seem to mind her distraction, he really didn’t. Good, he was ranting and she had tuned out half his death threats.

Ratchet said that he should avoid stress as much as possible; all together if possible. Ranting and raving about her matches was the complete opposite of “stress-free”. So she had a plan to calm him down, maybe even get him to sleep so she could go get a few errands done. Like pick up her armor from Faber.

“Lay back and get comfortable.” She purred into Megatronus’ audios, he happily complied. She had asked Ratchet if interfacing was considered stress, he said no. In fact, he told her that it would be a good way to relieve stress, but she had to be careful and bring Megatronus back to Iacon in one vorn for a final systems check. Until then she had to take him to a medic here to keep his systems regulated. She didn’t mind any of it, who’s to say ‘no’ to a medic? Especially when he’s ordering you to frag.

MoonStrider kneaded Megatronus’ torso, almost like a massage. He sighed, leaning back into their berth as she worked around his frame. She removed armor, exposing his protoform. He had a beautiful protoform. It was silver and red, little gold accents here and there.

Her servos glided over him, scratching at sensitive spots and tugging at wires. Her claws traced around the ports lining his sides, letting bits of energy trickle out of her and into him. He moaned loudly, his strong frame arching into her touch. His optics were almost closed as he reached for her, his servos grabbing at her sides. MoonStrider smiled before grabbing his servos and placing them back at his sides. He got the message and kept them there.

He groaned as she scratched over his chassis; paint flaked away as her sharp, deadly claws dug into him. She made sure not to cause him pain in any way, but she could still drag this out. She looked over his moaning, pleasured frame, her golden optics bright and intense.

There was something about doing this with him that got her going.

She had many lovers in her past life, and she had her fair share of crazy, intense sex. She had done it all back then: every position, every toy and idea. But she had just started with this frame and had only tried a handful of things, still getting used to the feel of it in her new body. It was so refreshing, so thrilling. She enjoyed interfacing in this frame, and she enjoyed it with her Megatronus.

She had claimed him, he was hers and she was his. They had marked each other as theirs, and everyone knew it, even if it was unconsciously. That’s why no one fragged with them; because they knew where one was, so was the other.

Her smile became feral as her servo brushed over his panel, making him groan at the teasing contact.

“Strider…” He groaned, almost begging. She knew how to riel him up, get him crazy and needy. She loved it. Her claws teased the sides of his panel, her frame holding down his legs to keep him in place. His claws dug into the berth, adding to the numerous other scratches that ran up and down its surface.

MoonStrider scooted down his legs, her aft ending up just above his peds. Her wigs were high in what could be seen as smugness, but just a tad different. She leaned down, her servos grasping the mech’s hips. Her tongue poked out to run over his panel and it immediately retracted, setting his straining spike free. She hummed in triumph.

His spike was large; he was a large mech after all. Red colored the underside with black and silver on the top. Ridges and sensor clusters ran up and down the sides, and at the base there was these series of positive and negative magnetic spots that provided added pleasure to whoever he was spiking. MoonStrider shivered, those felt amazing, she would know.

The seeker femme purred at her prize, it was _aaalll **hers**_! Her grin widened as she grabbed it, drawing a gasp from its owner. She moved her servo up and down its impressive length, drawing groans from the silver gladiator below her. Claws lightly trailed over the underside, almost tickling. Megatronus growled: irritated and snarling at her. MoonStrider chuckled before giving in to her mech’s demands.

Her lips closed over the tip, drawing his spike into her mouth. His frame arched into her, bucking into her warm mouth.

Megatronus cursed as she took all of him into her mouth, deep throating him. She swallowed several times so she wouldn’t gag; this frame wasn’t used to it yet. Humph, she’d have to rebuild all of her “talents” that she used to have. Megatronus was still bucking into her mouth, but she held his hips down as she slowly pulled her helm back, sucking hard and swirling her tongue before pushing back down. She picked up her pace, her whole frame rocking back and forth as she pleasured him. A purr started in her chassis; vibrating up her frame and making Megatronus choke as it vibrated his spike.

His whole frame shuttered as she paid extra attention to the magnetic spots at the base of his spike, running her tongue and claws over each one. She could taste him. He tasted strong, but in a good way. It left a tingle on her tongue that felt interesting. It made her want to taste him more.

Her wings puffed out, fanning them both as Megatronus began to shudder, close to overload. His optics were closed tightly and his mouth was opened wide as he let out the most delicious of sounds.

He overloaded with a yell, his frame arching from his hard release. The taste was strong and nice in her mouth and she made sure he was watching ash she swallowed. It took him a good while to come down from his high. The stress and tension from the past orn had built up and released in that one powerful overload. His frame slumped, his optics now closed out of exhaustion rather than pleasure.

MoonStrider sat back up, wiping transfluid and her own oral fluid from her mouth. She smacked her lips a few times as she cleaned Megatronus and herself with a rag before standing. The femme stretched high into the air, content with her work.

There was a bang on the wall.

“Keep it down or amp it up!” A muffled mech’s voice was heard through the wall. “It’s annoying when it keeps me up but I can’t hear the details!” MoonStrider laughed.


	26. Chapter 25: Hope

** Chapter 25: Hope **

It had been a long time for him, every cycle rolling past as slow and torturous as the last. They said that time heals all wounds… Fragging liars…

Seajump had never healed from his sparkling’s disappearance, neither did his mate: Thundergouge. The Creators struggled along, leaning on each other during the vorns, drawing from each other’s strength. Time did nothing for them, just made it easier to hide their pain.

Their family and friends urged them to try again, that another sparkling would help take their processors off the one they lost, but neither wanted to go through with it, the fear of losing another was just too much.

Thundergouge was still a trades-mech and he traveled off world still, but now he took Seajump with him every time. They traveled all over their system, collecting and trading with other planets and colonies. It was a good distraction. Sadly, their trips seemed all too short and they soon returned to Cybertron. They would return and every time it would hurt, because every time they would hold onto that hope that their sparkling would be there, waiting for them. But every time she wasn’t, and every time it hurt.

They’d sleep in her room, wrapping themselves tightly into one another, grasping at the blankets and pushes that they swore still smelled just like their creation. They hadn’t changed her room, not a chair, not a plush, not even a data pad was moved out of place. The chair still sat in the corner, what became of MoonStrider’s first and only crib sat off to the side, covered in data pads that she colored on. The walls were still covered in marks, words and glyphs that they had no chance of deciphering. Seajump sometimes liked to trace the scratches, feel the bumps and groves beneath his digits.

It was hard, they didn’t even know if she was alive or not. The bond was so weak, they were unsure if it was even there anymore. It frustrated them beyond belief, they didn’t know…

Seajump and Thundergouge walked down the streets of the upper-level Iacon, killing time until they left for their next trade. It was noisy, merchants yelling from their stands and bots bartering loudly for goods. The pair was not really paying attention, lulled into a trance-like state as they walked. They were heading off world that cycle, off to this colony to pick up an organic beast that had been captured. Thundergouge was delivering it to one of the scientific labs here in Iacon. It was a difficult task, but it paid well.

Something caught Seajump optics and he froze in place, making Thundergouge stumble from the abrupt halt. Thundergouge looked at his mate in question, but the aqua mech’s gaze was glued to one spot.

**_A blue and black blanket…_ **

He remembered a blanket, a royal blue blanket with black tassels, the name ‘MoonStrider’ sewn into the side with black thread. His sparkling had it with her when she disappeared.

She moved quickly to the stand, fear in his pounding spark that the blanket was really hers… He grasped the cloth with one servo, pulling it down from where the vendor had hung in on display. He moved it in his servos, looking for it. He froze, his spark throbbing in pain. Her name, it was there, stitched with black thread. His digits traced lightly over those glyphs. He couldn’t believe it, his baby…

How did the blanket get there?! What did it mean? Was she dead?

The thought made his spark roar.

Thundergouge lightly removed the blanket from his mate’s frozen digits, his own spark roaring. He looked to the vendor, who was currently bartering with a mech. He didn’t care. Thundergouge passed behind the stand, grabbing the mech’s shoulder and whirling him around. The mech yelled in anger, but was quickly silenced when he seen Thundergouge, and just how ** _big_** he was.

“C-can I help you good Sir?” He stuttered as Thundergouge loomed over him, a dark look in his optics.

“Were did you get this?” He rumbled, holding the blanket up. The mech looked confused for a moment.

“I don’t know-“

“ ** _DON’T LIE TO ME!”_** Thundergouge roared, his thunderous ability aiding his anger. His optics flashed and mech cowered in fear.

“I-It was sold to me!!” He yelled out

“By who?!” His voice hit a register that rumbled dangerously through the mech’s frame, causing him to stutter more.

“A-A f-f-femme! A s-seeker f-f-femme!” The mech confessed.

“Her designation?”

“She didn’t give one.”

Thundergouge huffed and released the mech before standing up straight, composing himself once more. He glared down at the mech, making him shiver at the Sire’s rage.

“What did she look like?” He hissed. The mech cowered more, his customer long gone by now. He shakily described the femme, each word making Thundergouge’s optics widen and his spark soar with hope.

“A seeker femme… a large one with four wings. She had weird audios, like…” the mech spotted Seajump and his audios, which were identical to how the femme’s had looked. “His!” He pointed to Seajump.

Thundergouge couldn’t move…

 ** _His sparkling was alive_** …

He looked over at Seajump, who looked close to tears. Their bond was a storm of emotions: happiness, sadness, joy, relief, and worry. Their sparkling was alive… She was alive!

They bought the blanket and left, heading home and canceling their trip. Hope filled their sparks.

 ** _They were going to find her_**.


	27. Chapter 26: Heat

** Chapter 26: Heat **

** (Rated M, the beginning is ok, but M rated part will start at the Paragraph that begins with “MoonStrider felt strange.”) **

It had been 3 vorns since Megatronus had been back and he was fully recovered and kicking aft more than ever. MoonStrider had been sparring with him frequently, giving tips and showing him new techniques she had learned. Megatronus was now unbeatable, bar only to MoonStrider. But she didn’t boast, she was over a billion Steller cycles in his senior, even if just in spark. She enjoyed sparring with her mech; it gave her pleasure to see his fighting improve over every match.

Another thing was that MoonStrider finally broke the final bearer and was now considered a full adult femme at 250 vorns old (or 21,500 Steller cycles). She was done growing now, and was quite a sight. Round, seductive hips, and legs that went for miles that curved into her tripod ped. Her back ped stabilizer had developed into an almost ankle braking heel. Her wings were large and fanned out behind her like butterfly wings, except her main wings were much larger and sat higher on her back than her smaller ones. Her chassis was round and her shoulders were strong and her neck was long and slim. Her face had matured from her once innocent look. Her golden optics were not as wide and gave her an appropriate older look, her lips were a nice dark silver color. She was a very beautiful femme, but she tended to scare bots so not many would come calling. Those that didn’t had to get past Megatronus.

She sometimes got gifts from anonymous bots, ranging from small trinkets to beautiful, expensive jewelry. As a seeker, she very much enjoyed the attention, the gifts. Clench found out about it and even made her wear some of her gifts in the arena, which seemed to please her secret admirers. More and more credits rolled in for Clench and he was more than pleased with his favorite gladiators. Megatronus also got gifts, not so much jewelry that she did, but he did get quite the stock of high-grade and edible crystals.

They sold many of the gifts they were given, keeping a few of their favorites and selling those they had no use for. MoonStrider kept this one piece of jewelry that covered the majority of her chassis and looped up over her shoulders to wrap lightly around her wings. It was obviously made specifically for seekers, it was very comfortable and it went into her sub-space when she transformed. Megatronus kept the high-grade and a very well-crafted sword he had gotten.

They were the most famous gladiators in all of Kaon and all of Cybertron.

OoOoOoOoOoO

MoonStrider felt strange. It seemed like her frame was too hot and her armor was too tight. Everything was blurry and not much was getting through to her processor properly. She was in her quarters, panting and groaning as she lay on the berth. Her optics were dimed as her teeth clenched. The heat was burning her from the inside out!

MoonStrider moaned, shakily unclasping her armor. She sighed in relief as she kicked off her leg armor, followed by her arm, torso, and wing armor. She groaned when she finally removed her interface armor, the heat there hotter than anywhere else.

“Ack!” She shuddered as her digits brushed over her main valve. That was… ** _good_** … MoonStrider groaned and traced her valve lining with shaky digits. It was good, very, very good and she needed more. She huffed, leaning over the side of the berth for a moment to grab a box. She snapped the lip open, her bio-lights giving her just enough light to see what was hidden inside. It was a false spike that she had jokingly bought a long time ago. Little had she known how much she and Megatronus would enjoy the toy. It has four different vibration settings and a magnet at the end that pushed against the back of one’s valve long before the false spike did. It also has very deep ridges along the bottom and small electrical nodes along the top. She and Megatronus always shared a good laugh when they had to charge the battery on the spike. They always claimed they had to “charge their spike”, it was rather amusing to say, especially in public.

MoonStrider groaned as she maneuvered her heated frame into a more comfortable position. Her legs were bent at the knees and her legs were spread slightly. She reached down with the toy and placed at the entrance of her valve. The femme gave a soft cry as she suddenly thrust the toy all the way into her dripping valve.

“F-fraggg…” She groaned out, her optics clenched shut tightly, thrusting the toy in and out. Her free servo came up to gag her mouth, muffling her moans as she twisted the toy just so…

She felt hot and needy. She needed it, she needed something and right now! The toy helped but it wasn’t enough! Her processor was fogged with desire, what she wanted, what she needed, was someone.

The seeker moaned as her bare wings scraped the berth. She rolled over onto her front, grinding her chassis against the metal surface of her berth. She growled and hissed as the vibrations sent pleasure shooting though her frame.

She overloaded with a yell, her front arching into the berth as she shook. It didn’t help, not even a bit, to quench the fire that burned in her frame.

She groaned in irritation, what did she need to do to make this inch go away? An answer seemed to be delivered to her from the One, in the form of a strong, gun-metal gray mech with beautiful blue optics and the stamina of ten mechs.

Megatronus had been worried; MoonStrider had not arrived for their spar, which was not good. He had hurried back to their quarters, but as he had walked, a smell so sweet and intoxicating had slammed into his olfactory sensors. He had stood there in the middle of the hall, his processor whirling from the scent. He had then stumbled to his quarters, the scent only getting stronger. His engine rumbled and his optics narrowed at the sight of a crowd of mechs in front of his quarters, the mechs clawed and banged on the doors. He was thankful they had the wisdom to get them heavily reinforced early on.

Megatronus stood tall, looming over the smaller bots before him. He released a roar that thundered through them, triggering their base programing. The mechs backed off and he stalked to the door, growling animalistic at the mechs. The doors opened and he quickly closed them behind him before the mechs could attempt to get in. The sight that greeted him was almost enough to drive him insane.

MoonStrider sprawled on her front on their berth, bare of any armor. Her bio-lights shown enticingly on her frame, trailing everywhere he knew was sensitive on her. Her valves leaked, covering her thighs and the berth with her lubricant. Her face was awash with pleasure and her frame shook. She made the most delicious of sounds he had ever heard, and her scent… he was close to losing all control over his frame.

MoonStrider spotted him and practically sang for him to come closer. He did, slipping over to the berth as she flipped over and grabbed him. Megatronus growled lowly, his powerful voice rocketing through the femme’s frame.

“Need…” She panted, rubbing against him in desperation. Her legs wrapped around her waist, her frame burning from arousal. He growled once again, his optics burning into hers as he slammed his lips upon hers. His frame grated down on hers, pushing her down into the berth. Their tongues entwined and she let him take the lead. He grabbed her hips, her protoform soft under his hardened servos. The seeker moaned into his mouth as his thumb digits rubbed hard circles into her hip joints.

His panel ground into her, unknowingly pushing the vibrator deeper and causing her to yell, breaking the kiss as she threw her helm back. He took the opportunity to latch his mouth on her neck, his teeth lightly biting down.

“Megatronus… Megatronus!” she breathed out a moan as he reached between them and pulled out the toy. The silver and blue seeker reached down as well and expertly undid his panel, exposing his hard spike. The femme hissed ferly at him as she unclasped more of his armor for better motion. He fit snuggly between her legs with no armor on his hips.

She wanted him, needed him in her, right now! As soon as he had walked into the room she had known what she needed to make this itch and fire go away. She scratched at his back, her frame bucking against his as she panted. Her legs pulled him closer and she finally got what she wanted.

Megatronus sheathed himself in her with a deep groan, his mouth still firmly clamped around a cable of his femme’s neck. She shook with need beneath him, her optics shut tightly with his entrance. He was still only for a moment before moving slowly out before thrusting in hard. She moaned as he slowly sped up, slowly let his base programing take control.

MoonStrider was in bliss, her frame rocking back and forth across the berth as he thrust into her. She could feel the pleasure filling her, almost overflowing but not just yet. It was so satisfying. Her optics were blurred and she didn’t care about anything else at this point, only that he was there, moving in her so perfectly.

She tipped over the edge, her frame arching into his as he pushed her over the edge. She yelled, her legs clenching tightly around him. He continued to thrust, prolonging her overload and falling into his own with a muffled groan as his optics rolled back. Megatronus shuttered for a moment before his overload passed.

It was three jours later after constant, unrelenting rutting, they took a break.

The mech groaned, releasing MoonStrider’s neck and pulling out. She groaned, her arms still wound around his shoulders. For the moment, MoonStrider’s heat cycle seemed to have cooled. Her optics had closed as she relaxed back into the berth, purring in content.

Megatronus moved, sliding out of MoonStrider’s hold. He was tired and sore and very, very low on energon. He had no doubts that MoonStrider was as well.

Megatronus sat next to the berth, trying to regain his senses after they had been so thoroughly blown away. He pulled a servo over his face and up over his helm. He must have lost his helm some time in-between romps as he felt the amplifier panels on the top of his helm.

Megatronus welcomed the cool floor against his overheated frame. He could have sworn they had rubbed hard enough to warp the metal around his waist. He slowly pulled himself over to a wall and clicked a small part of it. A small section of the wall folded back to reveal a hidden stash. After the thievery some time ago, MoonStrider insisted that they either get a safe or a secret compartment because she was **_not_** going through that again.

In the compartment were several things: two jars of credits, some high-grade, jewelry, trinkets, and one small flute he had made for MoonStrider long ago. She had attempted to play it and it… wasn’t Primus’ gift of music one would say. But she did continue to play it until it sounded good. She had then turned to Megatronus and told him “It isn’t the instrument, but the musician”. He was glad she enjoyed his gift. Megatronus grabbed some energon and closed the wall. He crawled over to the berth.

Megatronus smiled at the gift Primus had granted him, she was indeed a light in any darkness. She was sprawled out, her breathing peaceful as she recharged. His spark thrummed in happiness as he lightly brushed his digits over her face, she let out a sight and nudged his servo. He was glad he had her.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Megatronus carried MoonStrider down the hall towards the wash racks. Transfluid and lubricant trailed up and down their frames, dripping onto the floor and marking their journey from their room to the racks. Mechs tried to grab at her and Megatronus had to rip a few limbs off to get the message out that she was taken.

He had armor on only over his vital parts, same for MoonStrider, best not to give mechs a chance to kill them. He would remove their armor once he had her safely alone in the wash racks.

He finally reached his destination, he femme still asleep in his arms. The door swooshed open in front of him and closed behind him. Megatronus locked the door and set MoonStrider down under one of the showers. Placing credits in the slot, solvent rushed out and hit the tiled floor next to his femme. The gladiator bent down and began to unlatch her armor. He removed it all, even her helm armor, letting her thick braid of cables tumble out.

MoonStrider woke slowly, her frame heating up as she came into awareness. She moaned as servos brushed over her, unlatching armor she was sure she had removed earlier. Her golden optics peered heatedly up at her companion: Megatronus. The femme purred, her frame wiggling into his strong arms. MoonStrider wrapped her legs tightly around his waist and her arms around his neck.

“Megatronus,” her voice rolled across her tongue lowly, full of heat. She felt his growl as he pinned her to the wall, warm solvent running down their heated frames. She ground into him, rubbing and transferring what little paint hadn’t been scratched off during their first romp. “Please…” she begged, grabbing at his helm and pulling it forward. Megatronus groaned and let her guide him into a passionate kiss.

He rubbed against her, pushing her into the wall as her legs tightened around his waist. He was glad he removed his armor before he had removed hers. He knew her heat cycle would grab hold of her again once she awoke. His optics closed as he deepened the kiss, pushing forward hard until her helm was pressed against the wall from the force of it. He felt the softness of her frame, how nice it felt against his protoform.

Their fans were roaring. The solvent raced down their frames and into crevices of their inner-workings. Megatronus’ spike was hard and squished between them. He maneuvered himself, never breaking the crushing kiss. His servos settled under her thighs, grabbing hold and lowering her onto his spike. She moaned deliciously as he entered her, her wet valve contracting tightly over his spike. His engine revved loudly as he pushed all the way in, seating himself inside her with ease.

He began a rhythm; his strong arms lifting her whole frame before letting gravity bring her back down. Her smell filled his olfactory sensors, driving his up the wall with desire. He could smell her heat, her need for him. She was his and he proved it with every thrust.

MoonStrider’s helm was against the wall, the kiss had been broken some time ago. She felt amazing! Her helm was high in the sky as she was pleasured beyond belief. She chanted her mechs name as her heat burned brighter, hotter within her. Solvent was running down them, mixing with her lubricant and his transfluid. She could hear him grunting and groaning in her audios, she could hear the sounds of their joining. The in heat femme clutched onto her prize, she had won this fine specimen. She knew how strong he was, she knew his beautiful personality and his intelligence. She could smell his dominance. All things made her heat programs sing in approval of her chosen mate.

MoonStrider overloaded with a shout, her claws digging deeply into her mate’s shoulders. Pleasure raced through her, blocking her vision with white as she convulsed around him.

“Megatronus!” she gasped.

Oh, Primus above, she felt amazing. Megatronus thrust in faster, his rhythm broken up as he came closer to the edge. His grumbles and groans became louder as she overloaded a second time, rippling around him and catching onto the ridges of his spike as she pulled her closer. He cursed loudly as she dug her claws into his shoulders, the pain heightening his pleasure and sending him flying over the edge. His engine roared and his claws dug into the wall as he was lost in the waves of pleasure. His knees buckled and sparks flew as their frames scraped down the wall.

MoonStrider needed more and Megatronus was happy to give it to her, even as the solvent turned off and their frame became sticky with fluids. He thrust as hard as he could at times, knowing that her battle hardened frame could take it. She loved it, she really did, and she screamed it. They stayed in there longer than ever, no one bothered them surprisingly.

They changed positions often; her favorite was when he was behind her, leaning over her back with his servos grabbing her hips tightly. They went back to that position a lot; apparently it was one of his favorites, too.

It was late into the lunar cycle that MoonStrider drifted off once again and Megatronus was finally able to tiredly clean them up. He carried her back to their room and collapsed onto the berth, falling into recharge instantly. But as he fell into recharge he had one thought…

_This is going to be a long orn…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (AN: Whoo~ hot! I finally came through with this chapter, and I’m thinking of doing a Part 2! Because I got this little idea in which MoonStrider is called to fight a match and Clench won’t care that she’s in her Heat Cycle, and well… I guess the bots watching will get their credits worth~ ;)  
> Till All Are One!!!!


	28. Chapter 27: Heat Part 2

Chapter 27: Heat Part 2

(Rated M: Multiple Partners, Voyeurism, gore)

It had been two cycles and MoonStrider’s heat cycle was at its peak. If she was not recharging, she was interfacing. Megatronus was her main catch, but when he was too tired or ran dry of transfluid, Megatronus would call in Turboshift or Faber (the only bots that they both trusted) to come and take his place for a few jours. Both mechs were slightly reluctant at first, but one whiff of MoonStrider’s scent changed their minds.

But right now was slightly different; both Turboshift and Faber were with her.

MoonStrider had her servos on either side of Faber’s helm, looming above him as she hissed and growled at them to continue. Turboshift was behind her, rutting against her with his arms tightly wound around her waist. One was in each of her valves, which pleased her heat immensely. They were there because she had worn Megatronus out for the second time that cycle; her heat had been more demanding in the past jours than it had before. Faber and Turboshift had been in the area, thankfully.

She heard Turboshift gasp as he overloaded again, his frame jerking behind her. MoonStrider hummed in approval, her hips grating down on Faber’s spike. She nuzzled into Faber’s neck, the older mech grunting and groaning with every one of her thrusts. Faber’s skilled, talented digits dived into every seam he knew. He was good- very good- with his servos. He did work with her frame for her armor, so he knew every little spot to touch.

Turboshift was going again, spiking her hard from behind and adding strength behind her thrusts onto Faber. MoonStrider groaned as Faber’s spike hit a sensitive cluster of nodes at the top of her valve and she tried to position her hips to repeatedly hit that cluster.

Megatronus was on the floor, recharging, drying fluids all down his front and legs. He was also snoring.

MoonStrider shouted as she overloaded around the two mechs, causing Faber to overload finally and causing Turboshift to choke on his voice. The room was hot and their frames were burning from their continuous overloads. Fluids covered their legs and stained the berth below them. They had been at this for the past 4.7 jours, and both mechs had overloaded multiple times, and it appeared that they were about to drop out. She wanted to milk them for all they got before they hit the floor and joined her Megatronus.

It wasn’t even a bream later that both mechs were on the floor, snoring and using each other as pillows. MoonStrider growled, she was not stated, but she knew that her chosen mates needed a good rest before anymore activities could happen.

Her comm. link went off.

::MoonStrider, you have a match in a bream, where are you?:: Clench’s voice cut into her audios.

::I cannot fight this orn, Clench. I have come upon some bad… health issues:: She replied hesitantly.

::I don’t care if you have the fragging plague, the stadium is filled and you are fighting, Clench out:: The line cut and MoonStrider cursed. Her heat cycle was at its peak, what would happen to her out in the ring? Yes, she could still fight, she had the concentration. But she didn’t know how it would affect the crowd or the beast she was going to fight. With her luck, a member of the crowd would be driven to hop into the ring… great.

With a heaving groan, MoonStrider stood, cleaned herself off, put on her armor, grabbed her weapons, and walked out the door.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

This was terrible. She should have protested more.

MoonStrider ducked under the massive, spiked tail that swung at her helm before bringing up her sword and cleaving through the secondary tail.

The beast she was fighting was large, very, very large. She was a third of its height. Spikes covered the majority of the beast, hard scales covering the rest. It had a large head with horns, small eyes, and sharp teeth. It sat on four legs, each bearing three sharp claws.

It was rather difficult to fight, especially when her blade couldn’t pierce its’ hide.

She let loose a roar and charged at the beast, flipping over claws, tails, and horns to land on its neck. She tried stabbing at the weak points of the beast’s neck. Shallow cuts bled a dark red color from where her blade attempted to slice off the beast’s head. The crowd roared, chanting her designation as she rode the organic like a Zap-horse.

It was strange when she had first entered the field, the crowd had went completely silent, all breathing deeply as her scent dominated the arena. The stands had erupted, mechs and femmes clawing at the force field that separated the arena from the stands. She had seen the ripples on the field, watching as they slowly traveled up and around in a dome. Her base programing had been-and still was- going nuts, trying to identify the best mechs and femmes in the crowd for breeding.

MoonStrider was lucky she had her reproductive chamber temporarily closed off. It would wear off in a few vorns and she would be able to bear sparkling or have to get it closed again.

The seeker femme gave a shout as she was flung off the beast’s neck and thrown across the arena. She hit the wall with an ‘omf!’ but was not harmed.

It would take a lot more than that to defeat a champion of Kaon!

MoonStrider stood and took a stance. The beast roared at her. The femme snarled, pulling at the older parts of her spark; she brought forth the memory of her roar. She puffed her chest out and threw her helm forward as she let loose her own roar. Her golden optics flashed as she roared, a little piece of her old self showing before retreating back into the darkest corners of her spark.

The beast pulled back, as if startled such a sound could come from a being so small to it. It quickly recovered and charged her. MoonStrider charged, her heat driven processor determined to get rid of such a threat to any possible mate. But this time, as her blade met scales, she affirmed her title and with one touch, the beast was fried.

The beast fell, but was still breathing. MoonStrider felt a flash of tiredness before it disappeared. She stalked over to the beast, her programing flaring in triumph. Her blade cut into the weak parts: armpits, just under the jaw, and eyes. It was dead now.

Blood ran down her front and splattered across her wings and face plates. She vented heavily, her frame burning with arousal.

“MOONSTRIDER!” A powerful voice boomed from behind her. Her optics widened and she turned to see Megatronus coming into the ring. He looked pissed. The crowd had gone silent, but she wasn’t concentrating on them. All she was focused on was how her first chosen mate was here and his frame was prime for breeding.

She purred, even as he stomped forward, an enraged look on his face. She felt him grab her shoulders firmly, not enough to harm her but enough to keep her in place.

“You are in no form for fighting! What surge of stupidity led you here!?!” He demanded loudly, the whole arena watching with rapt interest. MoonStrider’s optics were wide, not in shock or anything bad, but his frame was pressed so nicely against hers and the power he was showing turned her on all the way.

Her scent flared, causing Megatronus to pause in his rant over her sheer idiocy. He glared down at her, venting deeply and catching her strong scent. His frame instinctively pressed closer. But Megatronus had control over his frame.

“Why did you fight when you know so much could go wrong?” He spoke softer, his grip loosening.

“Clench…” She spoke airily, her frame swaying and her wings fluttering seductively. The silver mech growled in anger, of course that aft would do this. He would pay, one cycle, he would rip his spark out and shove it up his-!

His thoughts were interrupted by the seeker in front of him, who had boldly grasped his interface panel, and had yet to let go.

The crowd was murmuring and purring, mechs and femmes watching as the femme gladiator seduced the mech one right on the field. None were complaining, actually most were aroused at this point, imagining themselves with either or both of the gladiators in the ring. Talk about getting your credits worth.

Megatronus was faced with a dilemma: frag the femme in front of everyone, or drag her back to their quarters. Both had their downsides. He had never publicly interfaced, but he couldn’t deny the thrill he got at the thought of taking MoonStrider in front of all of these bots. That and their quarters were very far away….

Frag! He was supposed to be scolding her for being so foolish and fighting in her heated state! Not… not… damn

MoonStrider was good at what she did, and she was currently massaging his panel with skilled digits, he swore he could feel her servos on his spike through his panel… Damn this foolish, desirable femme!

Megatronus growled grabbing onto her arm tighter. Fine! They were going to frag, but they were doing it his way!

MoonStrider felt the shift in her chosen’s fields, a predatory flare pounding against her desire filled field. He grabbed her arms tightly, pressing her against the carcass of the fallen organic beast. The heat from the dead beast hit her wings, blood oozed from the cuts she had made.

Their lips smashed together in a heated, passionate kiss as they ground together. The femme was moaning as she allowed the mech to take the dominant position. The kiss broke and the seeker hissed, but her hiss was silenced as she was suddenly flipped around and pressed into the corpse. One arm was bent behind her while the other was braced against the dead beast; she was pinned with Megatronus at her back, holding her arm behind her.

The crowd was growing louder and louder as their coupling progressed, horny bots yelling out what they should do and how they should do it. They didn’t care, not as they ground against each other so perfectly.

Megatronus’ free servo trailed over her curved front, scratching at her armor and dipping into seams to pull at wires and cables. The femme seeker was moaning and wiggling against him as she was teasingly stimulated. Teeth and tongue lathered her neck and bit at vital energon cables, marking her and claiming her.

“M-Megatronus!” She gasped as his servo finally touched her panel, but only just. Light, torturous touches that sent tingles down her front but didn’t stimulate her. She let out an angry yell, her wings flicking up and smacking Megatronus’ sides. He chuckled lowly, his voice vibrating through his chassis and into where her back and wings touched him. Finally, finally, he opened her panel.

He didn’t wait; he opened his own panel and slid right in. She had been so worked up over the past few cycles that she was already prepared for him, so neither worried. She was hot and wet, surrounding his spike in perfection. They both gasped as Megatronus started a brutal pace, pounding into her ferly.

The crowd was going wild. Bots were chanting and screaming in praise for both gladiators as they rutted in the arena below them. Some of the bolder bots had started servicing themselves as it went on.

Megatronus groaned as he repeatedly thrust into the warmth of MoonStrider's valve. The ridges on his spike scraped the nodes on the side of her entrance, driving her wild. She bucked and thrashed against him, trying to gain more of those wonderful sensations. But Megatronus was strong and held her in place, only giving her what he wanted to give.

The femme growled in irritation before pulling a little trick she learned long ago. He kicked up her right leg, up and around till it wrapped around Megatronus. Her great flexibility was shown as her leg wrapped behind his hips, her tri-pod like ped stabilizers grabbing onto his left shoulder. Megatronus jumped at the unexpected action, the femme’s leg wrapping around him like a python, squeezing his back and waist tightly. Her strength was also shown as she squeezed and used her leg to bring his frame forward harshly.

The crowd was hollering as she forced is hips forward with her leg. Megatronus was growling in dominance, but let her move his hips, even going with it and adding strength behind the thrusts. MoonStrider overloaded not long later, Megatronus following her. Both roared out their release, making the crowd scream in satisfaction and pleasure at the sounds of such strong beings rutting like animals on top of the fresh kill.

The two gladiators continued, drawing out two more overloads from one another before they finally untangled from one another. The crowd was hard to calm, most had overloaded themselves and were contently sitting in the stands.

MoonStrider groaned, her interface frenzy stated for the moment. She huffed in irritation as she looked down at herself. She was almost completely covered in organic filth, mixed with lubricant and transfluid into a sticky cocktail that had turned a gross purple color. Megatronus didn’t look any better, he even had a large, uncomfortable looking dent in his shoulder from where her ped stabilizers had squeezed.

Megatronus tiredly dragged MoonStrider out of the arena and to the wash racks, cleaning the organic and non-organic filth off their frames before heading back to their quarters.


	29. Chapter 28: The Thought Of It

** Chapter 28: The Thought of it **

It had only been a cycle since the end of MoonStrider’s heat cycle that she was called to Clench’s office. She wasn’t very happy about it, but he seemed happy to see her.

“Ah, MoonStrider, congratulations on your… shocking victory on the field last cycle.” They was a deep rumble in Clench’s chassis as his optics roamed over her frame, causing a disgusted sneer to cross her face.

“My cycle has ended, Clench. Don’t think you can squeeze a cheap frag out of me.” She bit out, causing Clench to chuckle. He leaned casually back, pulling a draw open from his desk and pulling out a credit chip. He threw it on the table. MoonStrider’s wings hiked up in absolute fury, but Clench cut her off before she could say anything.

“Your earnings from your match.” She glared at the mech, to which he let out a harsh laugh. “Don’t think I’d barter credits for your services, femme.” He grinned sinisterly, “There are other ways to get what I want, but don’t mistake my interest in credits to be interest in you, MoonStrider. I am a mech who desires credits and will do anything to obtain them. Your performance in the ring last cycle has drawn in an extra 257 percent than our usual income from each match. Mechs and femmes wishing to get a show have been coming to other matches in hope to see some action, and a few have even come asking for your services.” Clench held up a servo as she took a step forward, ready to shout objections. “I have denied all attempts.”

MoonStrider looked at him in suspicion, why would a mech like Clench give up a chance to make a quick credit? He read her expression and was quick to clarify.

“You’re more of value on the field, not in some mech’s berth getting fragged. Though I assure you, if your performance lacks, I will not hesitate to throw you to them. “MoonStrider hissed, stalking forward to slam her servos onto the desk, denting the black metal.

“I will kill any mech who dare lay servo on me without consent.” Her low, dangerous, and filled with dark promise, her golden optics displayed her anger clearly and the willingness to carry out her promise. Clench did fear her, she could feel it in his field, but he knew he had control over her: Megatronus.

Clench remained silent, staring at her directly in the optics. Neither moved nor blinked or flinched in any way as they stared each other down in a display of their shared dominance and stubbornness.

Clench’s optics flickered first and MoonStrider sneered in triumph. She stood as Clench’s expression turned from neutral to enrage at his blunder. **To blink or look away at the sights of a seeker was a sign of submission.**

MoonStrider picked up the chip, checking to see all of her credits were there. She blinked at the surprising amount she had gained, Clench had not lied when he said they had gained and extra 257 percent in profit. She’d be able to do something nice for herself and Megatronus with this amount.

She dismissed herself and walked out of the office, leaving the mech to stew in his anger. She walked down the hall, mechs moving out of her way as she headed back to her quarters. She reached her room and entered, spotting Megatronus sitting on the berth, flipping through a data pad. He looked up and she tossed the chip at him. He caught it and checked the amount, a surprised look coming across his face plates.

“Wow,” He stated simply. The femme snorted before opening the secret compartment to grab her flute. Megatronus had made it for her and she enjoyed the challenge of playing it. Yes, his crafting skills were a far cry from perfect, but she still loved his gift. MoonStrider sat on a stack of empty energon cubes they used as a sort of stool and got comfortable. It wasn’t working and she clicked at Megatronus. The mech looked over and saw her dilemma and threw her a cushion. MoonStrider caught it and placed it behind her back.

Finally comfortable, MoonStrider settled back to play.

She played a song she had written, her digits lightly pressing the buttons Megatronus had fastened to it, which covered the holes in the flute. The song she played never failed to make Megatronus stop and just listen to her play. He said it reminded him of his times in the mines, and how the combined song of the miners would echo thought out the mines and through your very spark. It was very emotional and went though many changes in notes, melodies, and tempos. It was one of her favorite to play and she had also written it for an assortment of instruments. It made her think sadly on how her electronic-piano was gone, but for a good reason so she diverted her thoughts.

The melody went down, turning legato as she reached a lower register.

She had created many alterations to this piece, even a piano duet which she was meaning to teach to Megatronus. It was truly one of her best pieces. She loved it so much.

MoonStrider loved playing for Megatronus; it always helped him to relax. Which was good, for the life of a gladiator was a hard one.

She missed her Creators… Damn she had not thought of them in a while. She wondered how they were, if they still thought of her. Did they go on with their lives? Have a few more sparklings and left her as a painful memory? She could no longer feel them in her spark; the bond have had grown faint in the vorns of her absence. She didn’t even know if her bind was still there…

MoonStrider moved her digits, closing her optics as her favorite part came. A part that Megatronus would sigh at and sometimes fall asleep, too.

She thought about things. Megatronus would have to go back to Iacon soon to check in with Ratchet. Hopefully he would be put in the clear and Megatronus wouldn’t have to take on the lesser beast anymore, she knew how much it irked him.

Megatronus had been studying politics in his spare time, looking at ways the cast system worked and how the counsel ruled over them. She had no clue where he was getting the data pads, but she didn’t care to ask. So far Megatronus had brought up several valid points about the unjust of the cast systems, and they had many conversations on what could be changed and what should be. Megatronus was quite ambitious and wished to raise himself out of the gladiatorial cast once he bought his papers (which would state him as a citizen of Cybertron and no longer a slave of Clench). She wanted this for him, too, and told him she would help him to achieve this; even if she had to teach him proper manners.

She wondered where they both would go after they got their papers. To Iacon? Maybe. But there were many options: Helix, Slaughter City (Kaon’s gladiatorial rival), Praxis, the Crystal City, the list went on. But where would she take Megatronus? What would they be after the arena? Would they still stand side-by-side or would they grow apart and go their own ways? She hoped they would stick together, she had grown very close to Megatronus, and even though she had not told him much of her past life, there was no one she trusted better.

In the past vorns, they had unintentionally became leaders, and gained many followers simply because they were the strongest. They were the best, they were undefeated (Megatronus’ bad match with his first beast didn’t count as a loss, due to him killing the beast before he collapsed), they were the Champions of Kaon, and bots seemed drawn to them.

Megatronus would start something, she knew it, and she was concerned the outcome. Her mech had quite the temper and quite the mouth on him. His words were harsh to those who didn’t know him and could easily be twisted into something bad. She hoped she could teach him to curve his words and control his temper. She’d have to start soon.

MoonStrider’s song ended and she started another as she continued to think, the music aiding her thoughts.

They would need help; special bots would be needed to aid them. They already had Faber and Turboshift, but that was not nearly enough. If Megatronus was to start something, they would need all the help they could get.They’d need intelligent mechs, strong ones, loyal to them.

Megatronus was very inspirational when he wanted to be, perhaps he could inspire some to aid them. But again, she needed to teach him to curve his words.

MoonStrider hummed and set her flute down, thinking on her words. How would she teach Megatronus? The mech was stubborn at best and would probably say his words were fine and brush her off to save his pride. Maybe she could convince him through some underhanded way, like withholding interfacing. Yeah, that always got what she wanted. Or maybe she could do something similar, but reward him if he learned. A game perhaps? One in which if he won he’d be in control of it all, but if he lost he would get nothing. A smirk crossed the femme’s face, yes, such a ploy would work and Megatronus would accept out of curiosity.

But that was for a later time.

“Credit for your process, Strider?” Megatronus asked, looking over at her from where he lounged on the berth. She had stopped playing and Megatronus noticed her far-off look.

“Thinking of what we shall do once we buy our papers.” She stated honestly. No point in lying, he’d see right through it. Megatronus hummed.

“I have as well.” He stated.

“And what have you came up with?” She asked, crossing her legs from where she sat.

“That we go to Iacon and gather information from the Iacon Hall of Records.” She knew it.

“Those are closed to the public, we’ll never get in.” she informed, and she was right. The Iacon Hall of Records was only opened to the highest casts who wished to research the past or the present. The Hall of Records contained the main source of all information. Everything from the mystical, distant past of the 13 Primes, to the every transmission sent over The Grid. The Grid was an invisible field that completely surrounded Cybertron. It was where transmissions were sent, videos, pictures, and audio were broadcast and saved and all of it was cataloged, sorted, and saved in the Iacon Hall of Records.

“We will have to find a way.” Megatronus grumbled, clearly this had stumped him as well as her. Megatronus turned to MoonStrider, his optics almost glazed with hope and desire. “Imagine MoonStrider, a cast-free Cybertron. Where we can be free to do what we wish, be what we wish, without the Counsel hovering over us. Just imagine it, Strider. How amazing it would be…” his beautiful blue optics shone brightly in her direction, but not looking at her but looking at a picture behind his optics, one that captivated him.

“It is a beautiful thought, Megatronus. One I wish dearly to see one cycle.” She whispered. Megatronus looked over to her, a determined but soft look on his face plates.

“And you will,” she looked at him in surprise, “MoonStrider,” he pulled himself to the edge of the berth, his peds touching the floor. His servos grabbed her’s making her place her flute in her lap. “One cycle, we all will be free, I promise.” The femme smiled and placed a small kiss on the mech’s cheek.

“I know.” Rarely did Megatronus show such emotions, even to her. She could see the flare in his beautiful blue optics, the fire lit in his spark. She knew that that fire would light the sparks of many and change many things in their world. She just hoped it would be for the better.


	30. Chapter 29: A Stunning Meeting

** Chapter 29: A Stunning Meeting **

Iacon was as he remembered it: loud, crowded, and segregated. Metal building made from a golden colored alloy shined from every corner, spires that twisted and sored into the sky. It was a very beautiful, even a hardened gladiator like himself could see the expert craftsmanship put into every weld and doorframe.

Megatronus was in Iacon for his final doctor’s visit. Ratchet was as grumpy as ever during the examination but had given him the ‘all clear’. Both he and MoonStrider were happy to leave the little clinic; the medic’s aim with that wrench of his was a bit too scary.

They had the rest of the cycle to explore Iacon, and they planned on doing just that, maybe hit a bar or two along the way. Right now they were walking in the upper streets of Iacon, were those of a higher cast went to buy goods and where all the nice hospitals and schools were. They were getting many strange looks and bots gave them a wide space to walk. He didn’t blame them, they were terrifying: hard, spiked armor, large swords strapped to their backs, and they were taller than all of them. They were very imposing, and how MoonStrider was walking right now wasn’t helping.

She grinned back at him, as if she could read his thoughts, and added even more of a sway to her desirable hips. Her wings were lightly swaying up and down, catching the optic of every bot. She was purposely being scary yet sexy, it was hilarious. Megatronus had to stifle his laughter behind a servo as yet another mech tripped over his peds as they passed.

Seekers, you have to adore them.

The two gladiators came up to a crystal park of sorts and MoonStrider’s optics lit up.

“I went here when I was a sparkling…” She whispered a smile on her face. MoonStrider walked forward, looking at all the crystals in wonder. She had almost forgotten about this place…

She turned when she noticed Megatronus had not followed.

“Megatronus?” She beckoned him forward, but he stayed where he was.

“Go on, I’m a little to clumsy for crystals.” He waved at her. “Go,” He put emphasis behind his word, seeing the reluctance in her optics. “We’ll meet here in a few jours.” The femme sighed but smiled at him and nodded in understanding. MoonStrider turned and headed over to a set of blue and white crystals. Megatronus watched her leave then turned on his own way.

The streets were crowed and Megatronus took amusement out of scaring the other bots. Some would squeak and scuttle away from him.

He was heading towards Iacon square; he had always wanted to see it. It was magnificent. A large, winding fountain was erected in the middle of the Iacon square, sculptures posed all around; beautiful, pure energon flowed out of pots in their servos and out of the top of the fountain. It was beautiful.

Megatronus stood at the edge of the fountain, gazing in wonder at the fountain. He wished Kaon had things this beautiful…

“Bots like you don’t come here often.” A voice broke him out of his thoughts; He looked down to see a mech sitting on the edge of the fountains. He was a large mech, aqua green and blue colors with white accents that looked like sea foam on his oceanic frame. A pair of large wings rested on his back and a set of extremely familiar finned audio receptors flicked on his helm. EH was clutching onto something in his servos, staring down at it with a look of longing.

“What do you mean?” He asked, looking slowly over the mech, wondering why he looked so damned familiar.

“You’re a war build, most don’t come to Iacon.” Megatronus raised an optical brow and the mech elaborated. “Most don’t like the stares, keeps most away.” He made an ‘ah’ sound, the mystery mech’s words were true.

“I can see how it would.” Megatronus stated. The mech looked up, his green optics filled with hidden grief.

“Medical reasons,” The mech hummed and offered a servo.

“Seajump”

“Megatronus,” they shook servos and Megatronus sat on the edge of the fountain. They sat there for a few breams, talking of little things, the mech still clutching the object. The mech shifted, the object coming into view. A blue cloth, with black tassels…

“What is that…” Megatronus asked quietly, looking intently at the blanket. The mech looked down at the cloth, that sad look returning. Seajump shifted, his arms opening to reveal more of the cloth. Megatronus reached out and moved the cloth slightly, exposing black stitching he know would be there.

“MoonStrider…” he whispered, his optics going wide. He looked up at Seajump, “where did you get this?” He spoke urgently, grasping at the blanket. Seajump looked at him in alarm, tugging the blanket away. “Look, this belongs to a dear friend of mine, this belongs to her!” The mech glared at him.

“No! The owner of thins blanket disappeared long ago! How dare you!” He yelled tugging the blanket out of his grip. “How dare you! Do you think this is a joke, something funny!? To say such things to a mourning creator! As if my pain is something funny!!” The mech roared and stood, his wings flaring in his anger. Megatronus also stood, his massive frame towering over him. People were looking at them.

“I am not one for jokes,” Megatronus stated calmly, keeping his voice level. “Who are you to the femme who owns this blanket?” he hissed. Seajump glared angrily up at him.

“I am her carrier”

OoOoOoOoOoO

Seajump was following behind Megatronus, how the mech had convinced him to come was beyond him. He had said he could keep the blanket and he wouldn’t fight for it, as long as he came with him. He really didn’t know why he followed him. That small bundle in the back of his processor that would forever nag him if he didn’t? What if it was real? Seajump felt like hitting his helm, and hitting Megatronus too.

It wasn’t too long before they came to a park. Seajump twitched when he recognized the park. His wings twitched, it was his sparkling’s favorite park.

He couldn’t tell why, but his legs shook and his spark pounded in anticipation. Maybe it was the thought of his sparkling, here or not, and how his spark would feel. What if he wasn’t lying? What…

Seajump stopped, his spark stalling in his chassis.

She was so beautiful… Sitting there with her back to a clutch of blue and white crystals, sparklings crawling around and all over her frame. She was as beautiful as a dream: her golden optics, her large butterfly wings, her fin audios so similar to his… she was there, she was real and alive.

Coolant tear raced down Seajump’s face plates, hard sobs rocked his frame. The blanket dropped, and he stepped over it. His frame was numb, his limps were weak. _His sparkling was alive; his darling one was ok…_

She looked up, her beautiful golden optics shining with life and happiness. She spotted him, her optics going wide as she stood slowly, the sparkling climbing off of her as she did so.

“Carrier…”


	31. Chapter 30: A Stunning Meeting Part 2

** Chapter 30: A Stunning Meeting pt2 **

Seajump couldn’t move, he couldn’t speak or think or do anything but stare. He stared at the beautiful being his sparkling had become without him. She carried herself like a queen, her chin up high and her wings standing tall. His baby was all grown up.

Tears of coolant streamed down the carrier’s face plates as he was finally able to move forward. His legs wobbled as he sprinted towards his sparkling, but they gave out half way there. A pair of strong, clawed servos halted his descend and hauled him back to his peds. Seajump looked up at the face of his sparkling.

He couldn’t contain his sobs of absolute joy as he enveloped her in a tight hug, his knees giving out. MoonStrider let them down slowly to sit on the ground. He rocked back and forth for comfort, never breaking his tight hold on her. He swore he would never, ever let go.

A confused pulse in his spark knocked a bit of thought back into the overjoyed carrier.

‘ _What is going on, Dearspark’_ His sparkmate asked with worry. Seajump beamed from where his helm was snuggled against his sparkling’s.

‘ _The most wonderful, amazing thing has happened, my Love.’_ He sent his absolute joy flowing through his bond like a river. ‘ ** _Our sparkling has returned to us_**.’ There was an explosion of emotions rocketing though the bond at his statement. Seajump calmly sent his current location and felt his mate hurry to get there.

Seajump was all smiles and was humming an old tune he used to sing to MoonStrider when Thundergouge arrived. His reaction was almost identical to his own: wide optics, wobbly legs, staring for the longest time before tripping over himself to get over to them. His optics were full of tears as he embraced his creation, kissing her on the helm and cheeks multiple times.

“My darling sparkling, my baby, my creation.” Thundergouge chanted as he rocked them back and forth.

MoonStrider was beaming. She held tightly to her creators as they sobbed and clung to her like a lifeline. She had missed them dearly.

It was like a dam had broken in her spark, and suddenly she could feel them once again. Their sparks embraced hers, flowing with love and joy at their reunion. She had not been aware just how lonely she had been all alone in her spark. She conveyed all of her feelings to them, showed them what had happened to her (leaving out all the naughty bits), and how she got to where she was. The creators growled at her tale, angered beyond all reasoning at what had happened to their sparkling, and who was behind it.

“I will kill him, I swear it!” Thundergouge growled, his ability loosening a bit, sending vibrations through their chassis’. Seajump agreed, readily able to rip that fragger Clench’s spark out. MoonStrider sent them her calm feelings, hoping to dampen the fire of their anger before they got themselves killed.

“All in good time, Creators.” She soothed. A light coughing sound came from a little ways away and she looked up to spot Megatronus, standing there rather awkwardly among the delicate crystals. She smiled warmly and nudged her creators to look at him. The two creators looked over the large mech skeptically. “This is Megatronus, without him, I wouldn’t be standing here this cycle. He has helped me survive in the gladiatorial pits and is a very good friend of mine.”

Seajump looked at the mech with a critical optics, but his gaze softened at the emotions flowing through his sparkling’s spark. He smiled at the large, armored mech. So, this mech had kept his sparkling alive and happy? He certainly didn’t look the protector type, but as the bigger mech’s optics landed on his sparkling, he knew he would be by MoonStrider’s side forever. The way he looked at her, he could see the love and adoration there, kept behind thinly veiled walls that would crumple at any nanoklick.

Seajump smiled warmly at this Megatronus, liking him already.

Thundergouge was a whole other can of electro-worms.

His gaze never softened from his speculative glare. Who was this mech to think he could just _have_ his sparkling? He didn’t look too special to him, what could he give her? A gladiator mech? He’d get killed one cycle, that’s what. Thundergouge didn’t like this Megatronus. But it wasn’t just that… It was something else about him that just rubbed Thundergouge in the wrong way, like an invisible mist of something foul and unpleasant followed him; not there just yet, but waiting for a moment to emerge into light and bring an unimaginable pain with it. He didn’t want his sparkling to be there when this mist of darkness took over the mech.

He glared heatedly at the large mech, disliking him already.

Megatronus slowly walked towards the reunited family, stepping carefully to avoid the sparklings running everywhere. MoonStrider grabbed his servo when he came close enough and pulled him down to sit with them. It was a rather humorous scene: a giant, battle ready mech amidst a crowd of tiny, helpless sparklings. The sparklings looked at him with wide, awed optics. None came close, still wary of the scary mech.

Megatronus looked around with a strange, uncomfortable expression. He was very much out of his element. He towered over the sparklings, even sitting.

A tiny digit poked his side and he looked over to see the sparkling had jumped a good few meters back and was currently looking at him with optics the size of saucers. Blue optics blinked in confusion as Megatronus looked at the crowd of sparklings that had seemed to double in the last few klicks.

Thundergouge, Seajump, and MoonStrider watched him, unspeaking. They were all curios to see how he acted around the little ones, all for their own purpose.

Megatronus tentatively lifted a servo, the sparklings closest to it scuttling away. He moved slowly and held his servo out, palm up towards the sparklings. It was a few moments before a brave sparkling shuffled closer to him. The sparkling looked over his large, clawed servo, which could easily surround him in its mass. He reached out and poked it. Megatronus didn’t move an inch. The sparkling poked him again with the same results. A tiny servo was placed fully on his large one.

The Mighty Megatronus, Champion of the Gladiatorial Pits of Kaon, could be found not a bream later with sparklings crawling over every part of his frame like a large, living jungle gym. He didn’t look annoyed at all, quite the opposite actually. He was playing with the sparklings, poking a few in the sides and watching them giggle, using his arms to lift sparklings up and down like a ride at a fair. He was smiling as sparklings giggled and laughed around him, one even tried to sit on the flat top of his helm.

MoonStrider was laughing at the picture he had become. Such a mighty mech happily reduced into a sparkling jungle gym. Her golden optics were lit brightly with happiness as she hugged her creators close. Seajump was purring happily as he sat in his femmling’s hold, rocking back and forth. Thundergouge was ignoring Megatronus, opting to hold his family close and never let them go.

A jour later, the four bots were heading out of the park. Seajump was happily chatting with Megatronus, all the while never letting go of MoonStrider. Thundergouge stood on the opposite side of MoonStrider, glaring at the gladiatorial mech every once and awhile while talking with his femmling.

They reached their housing unit. MoonStrider blinked as she stood in front of the front door, memories resurfacing of when she was far younger. She played on those front metal steps, was carried through that door, and sat on what little yard they had.

“Come on,” Seajump emerged, pulling them forward into the housing unit. MoonStrider crossed the threshold for the first time in over 3,000 stellar cycles. She was barley a youngling when she last had, now she was a full grown seeker femme. She towered over her creators by a good meter now.

“Your room is the same as you left it,” her Sire informed. “You can stay in there tonight.” Megatronus gave MoonStrider a look, which she ignored.

“We’d love to stay.” She walked forward, down the hall she had never thought she’d ever walk down again. Megatronus followed her as she retraced her steps to her old room: to the left, up the stairs, down the hall, and to the left.

Her Sire had not been lying, everything was the same. Her old stuffies sat on her bed, that accursed crib-table stood off to the side, the chair in the corner, and her walls. Her walls were still decorated in the languages.

Megatronus stared in wonder at all the markings on the walls around him. There were so many different glyphs and scratches that decorated every inch of all four walls; he couldn’t even hope to learn them all.

MoonStrider knew every glyph and marking, could read and remake every scratch and etching in the walls. Every language she ever learned was presented, some dating back billions of years. She blinked away the ghosts in her optics as she walked forward to trace the symbols. A set of markings stood out in all the rest, etched deeper and bigger than any other.

There were four.

**They were names.**

The femme’s optics dimmed to a shade Megatronus had never seen. Her digits traced every marking slowly; the edges of the glyphs were well worn, indicating that she had done this many times before when she had been younger.

“Silver, gold, white, black.” Megatronus was confused, what did colors mean to these markings? The seeker sighed as she traced the names. She explained, “My name, my companions… Our names could not be translated into any other tongue besides the first. So we gave each other names that were easily translated. Colors were the easiest.” Her digit dipped into the etching of the second name. “I had almost forgotten…”

Megatronus walked forward. “You never spoke much of your former life, MoonStrider.”

“I know. It’s not something I like to remember.” She spoke bitterly and Megatronus placed his servos on her shoulders.

“Tell me.”


	32. Chapter 31: Past Life Part 1

Chapter 31: Past Life Part 1

There was nothing worse than the knowledge that you’d never die. You’d never find peace, or comfort in the thought that death would take you away from all your pain one day. She didn’t have the pleasure of death; she would never know peace or fulfillment, because in the end… It didn’t matter. Everything would just fade into the sea of her unending life, like a small ship sinking into the darkness.

She was powerful. Very, very powerful. She could do so many things: bend the world around her, move it and shape it to her will. She could survive anything: Burning, torn apart, poisoned, starvation, dehydration, being crushed, suffocated, bled out, tortured, and electrocuted. She had been through it all; she had seen it all and done it all. All because of them…

The empowered ones

The very thought of them angered her. They were the ones that kept her like this! They enjoyed her torment, her pain. They kept her alive like a little show, a source of unending entertainment for them. Every time she’d almost die, they would do something; they would give her something that would prevent her from dying.

She knew it was them, she knew they were real. The soft whispers in the wind said so, their taunting laughs as she was denied death once again echoing over the hills and trees. She hated them, oh how she hated them. Sometimes she could swear she felt them poking at her, taunting her more with every second of her extended existence.

But, she wasn’t alone. There were three others that shared her fate. They were her family, her sisters, and they all carried the curse. They were powerful, like her, and had been through just as much. They had been with her since the beginning, since they found one another as children, to adulthood, to when they all first found out that they could never die, then to the haunting realization of just what that meant.

They had names, long, beautiful names written in the first language of the universe. It was complicated and long, but beautiful none the less. They were unable to translate their names into the languages they learned through their extended life, so they gave each other names that were easy to translate. Colors.

Silver, Gold, White and Black

She was Silver. There were many reasons they would name her this, perhaps it was because of her scales, or feathers, or fur all the color of the precious metal. Or maybe it was her teeth or claws that were sharper and stronger than any metal weapon, or how her whole body seemed to glow under the lunar lights.

Silver was a beautiful beast, a magnificent monster. She was a queen, a goddess to the primitive bi-foots living on the organic planet with her and her companions. She towered over them, their largest trees brushing at her scaled ankles. Her wings could block out the sun to a whole kingdom, her breath could level an entire forest.

She was a monster of legend; a beast with the head of a lion, the body of a lizard, the wings of a bird, and the tail of a serpent. Fur and feathers poked out where scales didn’t on her wings and head, except for a patch of scales on the top of her head. Large spikes poked out of her mane, which traveled from the top of her head all the way down to the tip of her tail. Her eyes were a haunting yellow that ghosted at her sheer age, intellect, and power. She was silver, with hints of blue and black in her scales and underbelly. Her fur was short on her head, but progressively grew out the farther along her back it went. She was magnificent. 

Scars, dozens- if not hundreds- littered her body like a crossroad, imperfecting her scales with rough scars from past burns and cuts. On her wings, you could see where it seemed as if something tried to take a bite out of her. All of these marks symbolised a time she had been ripped away from death.

Her companions were very similar to her, yet had very different things about them.

Black didn’t have wings. Instead, her tail had fins on the sides, meant for swimming. Black had no fur, only slick scales and rock-like skin the color of ebony. Her teeth and claws were thin, yet so sharp that she could cut through anything like it was air. Her form was smaller than Silver’s, sleek and meant for speed underwater. Black was mother of all aquatic monsters. She gave birth to them all. Her eyes were the iciest blue there was and seemed to glow, even in the darkest abyss she dwelled in.

She had what was known as the Siren’s Call to the Bi-foots, and she could lure any being to her, no matter what species or gender. She didn’t kill them the majority of the time, just playing with most or turning them into something else. She took pride in luring female bi-foots to her kingdom, then convincing them to join her and become a creature of the sea. Very few refused her offer.

White had wings, four actually, and they were insect-like, like a dragonfly. Her whole body was white, with traces of purple on her legs. White had six legs, each with three joints and three claws on each meant for grabbing things and pulling them into the air. She had four eyes, each glassy with lids that blinked from the sides instead of the top and bottom. Her wings were clear, but glowing purple veins pulsed through them.

Many legends called White the forest guardian, and say that she could turn and speak to any animal there was.

Gold was more like her than the rest, but still different. Her eyes were white, no pupil, and no way to see at all, or so one would think.

Gold was telepathic. She was able to see through others minds, use their senses as her own. She could manipulate and control anything with a consciousness, she could even kill.

Gold had the head and wings of an eagle, the body of a cat, and had two tails. Her claws were black, and she had teeth, but they retracted into her beak when not in use.  She was almost as big as Silver, but it mattered not; all of them could change form.

It was a rare occurrence, and none of them like doing it. But, if need be, they could take on other forms. They did this for the purpose of mating, there were no males of their size or kind to mate with, and so they had to settle for the smaller, squishier males. This didn’t specifically pertain to the bi-foot males, the sisters often sought out species that had similar characteristics to themselves.

It was rare for them to mate, for their children aged, died and faded before their eyes like dust in the wind. They were glad not to pass on this curse to their young, but they did not like watching their children die. So they stuck with one another, because they knew that out of all things in the unending universe, they would never die.

It was a sad thought, but it kept them strong.

Then there was something else… something beyond Silver and her companions could ever understand, even with their vast intelligence and understanding.

The One…

Silver had not believed in anything beyond the empowered ones, she couldn’t look past their cruelty and her hatred of them. She had never thought about where they had come from, or who had made them. It had never occurred to her.

But then one night, billions and billions of years ago, she heard him. The One spoke to her in a voice so caring and beautiful that it had filled her with peace and love, feelings she had not felt in so long, she had not recognized the feelings at first. He had spoken with her, telling her of whom he was, how he had created his children, the empowered ones. He would not intervene with what they were doing with her and her companions, his creations had to learn for themselves and if he intervened it would only be worse.

But he had made her a promise, that one day she and her sisters would be free. He promised her a life, full of happiness and love before she would finally have the peace she craved. She just had to wait. His promises were beautiful; they filled her with such feelings that her crazed, old, and fevered mind latched onto it like the lifeline she desperately wished to cut.

And she did, for so long she lost count of the years. Millions, billions, trillions, she didn’t keep count. She just waited, alongside her sisters, for her promised freedom.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Silver overlooked a large bi-foot kingdom, looking down at all the small, squishy beings that were under her protection. She had few things she enjoyed doing, watching over the bi-foots was one of them. They were like children that needed a looking after, and she was rather good at doing it. No one messed with her kingdoms.

She was well known in all the land, bi-foots from everywhere came to try and catch of a glimpse of her, to be blessed by her. They had many stories about her, and she didn't mind them, most were of her magnificence, while others were of her power and might. There were a few that painted her in a rather terrifying light, but that just made it so less were to bother her.

Silver lounged on her cliff, her wings spread out far to catch the warmth the sun provided. The people of the kingdom could see her; she was rather large and easy to spot from even far off. Her fur puffed up, catching some of the natural breeze the planet provided. She hummed a tune, stretching out in the sun.

It was like a game of sorts, to see how long she could keep her kingdom alive and flourishing. It wasn’t too difficult, but times of plague were a good challenge. But even if the majority of them died, all she had to do was keep some in good health for the next generation. The bi-foots bred so fast that it wasn’t hard to get their numbers back up.

Sometimes, if the times were good, the bi-foots would leave things out for her. Pretty things made of shining metals and jewels, or foods of great tastes. One time they even gave her a pet, this dog looking thing that she believed White made. She took good care of the dog, but its life was a blink in comparison to hers.

Silver yawned, her sharp teeth flashing dangerously. Her yellow eyes blinked and she turned to look at herself. Her blue and silver scales shone brightly in the sun, shimmering and casting dancing lights all over the ground around her. Her wings were spread and hung off the opposite sides of the cliff she was on.

This was a rare moment of peace for Silver, and she made sure to soak in every moment of it.

A brush of another against her mind made her look up. Off in the far distance was a black speck. The speck grew and grew, taking the form of another being like her.

Gold’s mental reach could span over half the Earth, and she was working on reaching even farther.

Brownish-gold wings flapped slowly, carrying their owner closer and closer to her resting place. The mental brush turned into a pleasant caress in greeting. She lowered her mental walls in response, trusting her friend completely with her consciousness. Gold glided over and Silver pulled her wings in to make space for her to land. She barely made a sound as her feet brushed the ground when she landed. Silver turned her head lazily, her mane ruffling with her movement.

“Greetings, my Friend.” She greeted. It was strange when she talked. She didn’t need to move her jaw really, just slightly parted her teeth to allow the sound to come out.  Gold folded her massive wings to her body before settling down on the ground next to her.

“Greetings, Silver.” Gold replied in a voice that both vibrated through her mind and ears. Gold’s colorless eyes stared into the void, as if she wasn’t blind, simply looking at things that Silver couldn’t. In a way, that was true. “The sun shines in our favor this year.” Gold commented, her unseeing gaze pointed in the direction of her kingdom.

“Indeed, the harvest brings plentiful this spring. Signs of darkness are far, but for what do I own to your presence this day?” Silver asked, resting her head on her outstretched legs.

“It has been more than a thousand millennia since your encounter, and only now do I sense a change in the high winds.” Gold informed.

“You soar so high, some say the sun singed your feathers!” Silver joked before turning serious. “But if what you say is true, might there be a prediction to be had?”

“I am sure of it, the time to seek counsel with the Oracles is close.” Silver’s face scrunched at Gold’s words.

“The ugly bi-foot sisters’ predictions are fickle and easy to break, too many times have their sayings been proven false, by mere men no less. To state that they apply to us is a laughable say.” Silver scorned.

“I am no less happy of the predicament, but it will do no harm to see what the sisters say.” Gold turned her unseeing gaze to her companion, her beak clicking together. “We should call our own sisters, if not for the Oracles, then to arms.”

“The shift in the high winds is a troubling occurrence, perhaps you are right, my sister. Let us go to them.” Silver raised her massive form from her resting place and stretched. It was the first time she moved in over one hundred years, not very long in her opinion, but enough to see her kingdom multiply by three.

“What of your kingdom?” Gold asked, standing with her friend.

“The bi-foots mean little to me. They breed faster than they die, they will be fine without me for a few hundred years. If not, I will simply start anew. There are many other bi-foot herds.” Silver simply stated, shaking the stiffness out of her legs and wings. Gold hummed at her sister’s words and accepted them.

** “Let us travel to the abyss, then to the forest to collect our companions.”   
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are finally caught up with my other sites, updates should be normal from now on.  
> Till All Are One!


	33. Chapter 32: Past Life Part Two

Chapter 32: Past Life Part Two

The heavy sound of beating wings thundered through the sky as two titanous beings soared through the air. Gold and Silver were on their way to the deepest part of the ocean, to where their companion and sister, Black, resided.

Black had her own kingdom, her kingdom under the sea. It was full of her creations, her “merpeople”. It also housed some of her dangerous creations, the sea serpents and what the bi-foots named the Kraken. Black had defended her baby Kraken after it destroyed several of Silver’s ships, saying that he just wanted to “bring gifts to mommy”. Of course Silver had let it pass, she couldn’t stay mad at Kraken, and he was only a few hundred years old then.

Silver could feel the wind blowing through her wings, it was a pleasant feeling. She really didn’t need her wings, she could just manipulate the wind to carry her, but what was the fun in that? The timeless being allowed a moment of immaturity as she did a flip in the air, lightly smacking her friend with her feathered wing. Gold huffed, but let Silver have her moment. A rumbling laugh came forth from Silver, her jaw snapping a few times.

They soared over the ocean, land now far out of sight as they headed to the deepest abyss on this planet. It wasn’t long before they reached Black’s domain.

Silver dived through the air, the air behind her forming a windy cape at her speed. Her wings folded down against her back tightly and she straightened her massive body for a better dive. Her companion did the same as her, her sharp beak breaking through the wind.

They hit the water, bringing up a wave that could take out an entire city. Bubbles clouded her vision and she was unable to see as she and her sister dived into the depths of the ocean. The bubbles cleared, but all that greeted them was the inky blackness of the abyss.

Silver’s fur floated around her like an aura, glowing with an inner light to shed it upon the abyss. Gold’s feathers didn’t reflect light easily; their brown hues dampening the light, leaving only her white, pupiless eyes to glow eerily in the dark.

The two swam down into the deep, air unneeded.

They had tried in the past; drowning… the empowered ones just made it so they didn’t need to breath.

Silver twisted, her feathers and fur fanning out as she swirled through the water in a graceful corkscrew. They plunged down until the light from her reflected on a structure, and then another, until a whole city came into view.

Small, finned organics of all colors, shapes, and sizes swam around and in between rocky buildings, their tiny, black eyes watching them in curiosity. Their tails and fins flipped in the water and a few young ones waved at them, one even swam close enough to brush at Silver’s fur.

They swam to the middle of the city. In the very center of the city was a monstrous hole, so deep that it reached the core of this planet. She could see the water moving around it, like a vortex, sucked in at the sides and pushed back up through the middle. Looking down, one could see the red glow of molten rock that broke the crust of this planet. Silver and Gold hovered near the edge of the hole for only a moment before continuing on, down deep into the earth.

Silver’s nose touched the lava first, before her whole body was emerged into the burning liquid. It hurt, it hurt a lot. But, it didn’t affect them. They continued on, swimming through the burning, liquid rock. The light made Silver close her eyes.

The heat swirled around them, but suddenly was gone, the liquid dropping out from under them and giving way to air. Their wings snapped open, catching them quickly. Silver opened her eyes and was greeted by a familiar, but unpleasant site.

The Underworld, domain of the empowered ones the bi-foots called Hades, Anubis, Hel, Erlik, Ereshkigal, and Thanatos. There were several others, Silver was sure, but they made themselves scarce in their company. The empowered beings down here didn’t bother her and her companions as much, knowing that they, just as them, had been subjected to their counter’s cruelty. Though, Silver knew this wasn’t always the case, some beings down here were here because they wanted to be and deserved to be.

She wondered why Black stayed here.

Hades was the only empowered one that she could tolerate; he was mild-mannered and always good for a conversation. He despised his counters: Poseidon and Zeus, who were lower-leveled empowered beings. He was good to talk to when she needed to vent about her absolute hatred for the beings that held her like this. Hades was sympathetic, saying “A mortal mind trapped in an immortal being was a fate worse than death”. Indeed it was, but it was nothing she hadn’t heard before.

She looked over to Gold, her yellow eyes staring into white in expectation. Gold nodded and Silver could feel her mental brush in confirmation. A roar was heard and Silver looked to the main temple of the Underworld.

Black glided through the air like she swam through the water, graceful and captivating in her slithering movements. She had no wings, only long, beautiful black fins that stroked softly though the air. She held herself in the air with power, her own power that shifted the air around her like water and darkened the wind.

Silver greeted her sister with a nudge, a purr rumbling from her throat. Black made a warbling hum as she nudged back and brushed a fin over Gold’s head. 

“You are needed in the above world, sister.” Silver said as she pulled back. Black’s eyes scrunched a bit.

“There had been a shift in the winds; it is time to consult the Oracles.” Gold further informed and her sister’s black, white-less eyes widened. Black nodded, not needing any further information.

They left quickly, out of the lava hole and back into the ocean. The merpeople fluttered around their mother and Black made sure to hold her fins out, letting her younger creations swim under them. The ascend was quicker than the descend, all of them using their wings or fins to swim quickly to the surface.

They broke the surface, water spraying up and out from where they exploded from the sea. Silver spun, flaring her wings and sending water far out in a spiral.  The water glistened off her feathers like tiny jewels as she flapped her wings to gain elevation.

Black swam though the air next to her and Gold, her pitch black scales looking strange out of the water. Not a bad kind of strange, she just wasn’t used to seeing her aquatic sister out of the water. Her flippers cut through the air just like they would in the water, her dorsal fins flowing as if suspended in liquid. She was a black cloud among the bright, blue sky.

It took only an hour to reach White’s domain, a thick, green forest that flourished with magic and life. The trees there were bigger than anywhere in the entire world. Animals of all kinds, both magical and non-magical raced and climbed beneath its thick canopy. If one looked hard enough, they could see the wisps of magic trailing from the trees.

The forest was too thickly condensed to land where White had made her nest. They had to land and shift their forms to a smaller size before entering. The three sisters landed just outside the edge of the forest.

Silver watched as Black came into land. She had no legs, only strong, graceful flippers. She watched as she hovered over the ground. Her flippers shrunk slowly, black diamond scales receding into hardened, ebony skin. She could see the bones beneath the skin move forward towards the end of the flipper before breaking the skin and forming shockingly white claws. The skin stretched over the joints of her bones, forming her knuckles.

Black landed on her newly formed legs, stretching out her new toes over the soft grass.

Gold was as silent as a whisper, her dark brown wings rustling as she landed on quiet feet. She stretched like a feline, her legs out in front of her as she dipped her body down. Gold stood back up with a pleased sound, shaking her body slightly.

Silver started to shift, her form becoming small enough to enter to wood without causing damage to the trees. Black and Gold shifted as well.

With a nod, they trotted forward into the trees, their backs brushing the dark green leaves. They stepped over large roots and ducked under low-hanging branches as they made their way deeper into the enchanted forest. Magic flowed like golden threads through the air, twisting and brushing against their bodies as if in greeting. The magic twisted and turned around them, following alongside them. It would flow around them, taking on different shapes of different animals and bouncing around.

Silver was the first to spot her final companion’s lair. She tossed her mane and walked faster, shifting the winds to carry her feet over the undergrowth.

The cave entrance was wide and surrounded by enchanted ivy that glowed different colors. The ivy was in constant motion, shifting all around the entrance to cover it in shifting patterns that flowed from one to another.

Black walked past her to the ivy door and tapped it with her nose. The greenery shuttered before pulling back and letting them pass. Black entered first, Silver next, then Gold taking up the rear.

The passage was only big enough for one to pass at a time. The walls looked like they had been dug out by some unnatural force as they were smooth, like marble. The earth was soft and giving under their feet, the dirt masking their footsteps. Silver could feel Gold’s touch, her mind brushing over hers to extend past them in search for their sister.

“The left come this next passage.” She said. They took her instructions and turned left. The passage had steadily grown darker, the light from the day fading the deeper they traveled into White’s lair. But that changed, a light came from above them. Silver looked up and hummed.

Crystals, beautiful glowing crystals of all shapes, sizes, and colors decorated the top of the cave. Moss grew in between them, gluing them together and holding them tightly like a living blanket. Silver always loved White’s taste in décor; she knew how to make the most beautiful scenery. But as Silver entered the space where White resided, she could easily say that it was nothing in comparison to White’s main cavern.

It was large, large enough for her and her sisters to be in full size and still walk freely. There was a hole in the top of the cavern that shed a beam of natural light into the room, spotlighting the very center. The walls had fine cloths draped over other entrances to the cavern. But the bottom of the cavern held the real beauty. An underground lake, its water the cleanest she ever did see. Crystals at the bottom of the lake made the water glow mystically. Treasures of all kinds littered the bottom of the pool, beautiful gems and precious metals twinkling in the light like submerged stars. In the center of the pool was an island where the sunlight shone. It was covered in grass, small bits of rock peeking out here and there. A pile of pearls sat on one of the lower rocks.

Sitting on that rock was White.

White’s body was long and slender. Her six legs were sitting upon the island, her claws resting peacefully on the rocks. Her large, transparent wings were relaxed, their ends dipping into the water. The veins in her wings glowed a soft purple. Her many eyes were lightly hooded from her side-blinking lids. She had no scales, or fur, or feathers, just a hard exoskeleton that was impenetrable. Her body was covered in long, golden strings and chains, dangling gems and stones.

Her eyes opened and looked over to them slowly. Her body perked up at the site of them, her wings rising from the water as she turned towards them.

“My sisters! Gladness accompanies you this day for I have not seen you in so long! Come, may we rest in the pool as you tell me the reason of this gathering.” White said, her voice light and wispy like the wind. One clawed, slender leg came to motion to the water. Black gladly dived into the water, glad to be back in her favored habitat. Her flippers came back and she twisted in the pool to circle around the island.

Silver stepped in, letting the cool water surround her body in a chilling embrace that seeped into her bones and calmed her. Gold came in slower, her entrance as smooth and graceful as ever. The water didn’t even ripple as she entered. They all settled in the water in a circle.

“The winds have shifted,” Gold started.

“I have felt as much, but what does this mean?” White asked.

“It means the time to consult the Oracles, for we believe the prophesied time has come for us.” White’s face changed into a rare look of delight.

“This is true? Oh! Praise the Earth and the life among it for we shall be free of torment!” White's wings rose high at her words, their tips touching the walls and brushing the tapestry. 

The sisters shared a smiled, it was time.

The One long ago promised them the day would come, the day they would finally die. It was a beautiful and filling thought. The peace and daydream of death’s calming embrace would wrap around them like a silken cloth, consuming them until they were once again one with the world. Their bodies would turn to sand; their bones, their skin and scales and fur, would all fall away to reveal their bodies to the elements that has so long been tamed. The wind would push them, the fire would burn them, the water would drown them, and the ground would crush them. Bugs and scavengers would pick them apart, aiding them in their quest to become apart of the world. Stabs wouldn’t heal, lava wouldn’t cease to melt them, space wouldn’t cease to choke them.  They could die.

Such thoughts, so dark to others, brought a lightness into the four of them like they hadn’t felt in billions of years. White rose from the island, her massive body pulling out of the position she had been in for the past century. 

“Come, my sister! Let us make with utmost haste to the Oracle!” From her words, White began her climb, her giant form shifting and tilting upwards. Her claws dug into the ground like it was nothing, hauling her form up towards the hole in the ceiling. Her golden jewelry chimed and ringed as she moved, like a million different windchimes, all trilling in harmonizing tones. Silver and her sisters followed, their wings and fins flapping and sending up water. They all headed out, exiting the hole and into the air. 

The day had grown dark, stars shining high in the sky like tiny illuminative diamonds. Silver breathed in deeply, sighing out in something akin to content.

Night time was her favorite time, and being here, with her sisters, made it all the better. 

Silver flapped her wings a bit harder, letting her body raise into the sky to catch the best lunar rays. Her body glowed in the darkness, her scars standing out like white lines among a silver canvas. Her yellow eyes peered far ahead into the distance. 

She looked back to her sisters. Gold and Black seemed to disappear into the night, while White glistened with her golden chains and bright jewels. She could hear their strong and steady wing beats, like a heart. Her sisters, they meant everything to her, they were her heart and the only thing keeping her going in her tortured existence. 

Silver roared, her voice carrying over the land like a thunder clap. Her sisters roared and cried in response, their voices carrying and lifting with hers to form one powerful thing that sent shivers down the spines of the Empowered Ones above them. 

The Empowered Ones knew what was coming, and by every might they had, they would stop it. 

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

The four landed outside the gates that led up to the Oracles. they were disgusting, their black posts covered in slime and rust. That didn’t deter them and they entered the gates. Long, winding stone steps led up to the Oracles' pedestal. The climb was quick, they could fly so it wasn’t difficult. They stepped onto the floor. A fire burned in each of the four large bowls that sat at the edges of the pedestal. The stony floor was covered in dirt and slime, bones from different things ranging from rabbits to bi-foots littered around the sides. Taking a quick glance over the edge, Silver could see the rocky drop off, the sharp rocks pointing up at them and strategically carved to impale anything that fell off the edge. 

Silver looked up at the sound of small feet.

The bi-foots of this world called them The Fates, or the Moirai. They were three sister deities, incarnations of destiny and life. Their names were Clotho, the one who spins the thread of life; Lachesis, she who draws the lots and determines how long one lives, by measuring the thread of life; and Atropos, the inevitable, she who chose how someone dies by cutting the thread of life with her shears. 

They were ugly, wrinkled bi-foots, with long, white hair that draped like a horse's hair over their shoulders in thick webs of knots and snarls. 

The Fates snickered and cackled to themselves, shifting and sliding on crooked toes towards them. Silver snarled, ruffling her mane and causing the tiny women to scuttle backwards. 

“We know why you are here.” hissed one, Clotho. They dissolved into snickers again, their rattly voices crackling and hissing like fire. 

“Not to hard of an enigma to solve, Fates.” Black spat, her voice bubbling like boiling ink. this just caused them to laugh harder, their cackles turning mad.

“We know everything!” Lachesis cackled.

“The past! Present! And future” Atropos said, throwing her head back with a loud shriek of laughter. 

“Insanity has clearly infested your minds as time has infested your bodies.” hissed Black. This made the Fates stop in their mad laughter to stare at the four of them. 

“Tell us, Fates, as to what causes the winds to change for us at this time?” Gold asked, placing one foot forward. They looked at her, mumbling in between themselves for a moment. 

“A force beyond even us,” Lachesis spoke up, her neck craning upwards to look at the four of them. Silver blinked down at them.

“The One calls upon us?” she asked in a whispery voice. The Fates didn’t know that, and they said so. “You said you knew!” she roared, her powerful voice shaking the stone beneath their feet. The Fates stumbled around.

“This is something out of our range!” one of them called, Silver couldn’t tell who, she was busy swiping at them with her massive paw, her sharp claws grasping their cloths. “But we know what it wants!!” the Fate shrieked. This made Silver pause in her attack.

“What is it then?” White demanded. The Fates regained their footing, huffing as their aged bodies were strained from the attack. Clotho pulled out something from her cloak, four somethings actually. 

Four long, golden strings were brought forth. They stretched on and on, until Clotho gave up on trying to reveal their impressive length. The four sisters looked at them in fascination. 

So those were their life threads? They were pretty. In some areas there were darkened parts, like something tried to squeeze through them, but failed. 

“You have no inclination to how many times we attempted to cut though these blasted lines!” Atropos hissed, her shears snipping angrily at the air. 

“What are these for, Fates?” Gold demanded sternly, her voice leaving no room for any other answer. 

“You are to take them, take them to the One, you must.” hissed one of them in wicked delight. Silver looked at them in something akin to shock.

The One… He calls for them?

A dreamy, dazed look came across Silver’s features, her golden eyes glazing over as she stared up at the sky. White came forward and grasped two threads in her mandibles. She threw the thread up, it’s winding length twisting in the air to land around her neck in loops, blending with her golden chains. Black grabbed the other two and did the same. 

“Where from here, Fates?” Silver asked, ready to leave and join the One. 

“Where the end meets the beginning.” Lachesis hummed, her eyes glued to the glowing thread twined around her sisters’ necks. The four turned to leave, but a horrible, delighted cackle made them stop. 

“Hahaha! Two for two! Where one shall win, the other shall lose!” The three shrieked together. This troubled the four little, they turned and left.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Silver had a foreboding feeling, like she knew something was happening beyond her line of sight. She asked Gold what she could feel, but she got the same out of her. 

“The Empowered ones are shifting in the skies.” Black summarized.

“Surely they will try to stop us.” White huffed. 

“Indeed, but we will stop at nothing to get to him, there is nothing to lose.” Silver said, her strong wings flapping in the night air. The moon was reaching a high point in the sky, its’ light shining down on them for what appeared to be the last time. 

The thought sent a thrill through her whole body, from the tips of her wings, to the tips of her nose and talons. It was time for them to be at rest, and nothing would stop them.

They flew to the place, where everything began and ended. 

Where they were born.

Silver remembered her birthplace well. It was a garden, full of flowers and all sorts of other plants and animals. It was a place of life, and soon, it would be a place of their death. 

Silver could feel it, a presence all around her, comforting like a blanket. She had felt this only once before, it beckoned to her, and from the pleased hums around her, her sisters could feel it, too. 

But there was something else, something they had felt so many times before that they had grown to hate it. The Empowered Ones were here. 

Silver spotted the garden and dived towards it. Her sisters followed. Their feet settled upon the grass of their birth place. The trees rustled and the grass swayed in the wind as they stood there for a long moment, waiting for the Empowered ones to make a move. The wind stopped and everything stilled.

All was silent, nothing moved. 

Gold was the first to walk forward, her large paws hitting the ground being the loudest sound there. 

“I cannot feel-” she was cut off as the trees next to them exploded. A purple bolt of light shot out and struck where Gold had been just moments before. Silver could only catch a glance at what was there before a bolt of light was aimed at her. 

It was an eerily glowing purple, metal plate with a long, thick chain of the same color. Silver had seen those before, they were meant specifically for them, to hold them down and in place. They would never reach the One if they were caught in those. 

“RUN!” Silver roared before sprinting forward, dodging the exploding greenery and the chains. The traps were rained upon them, hitting the ground with heavy ‘thunks’. The chains on them waved around, slithering like snakes in the air, searching for something to latch onto. It made it increasingly difficult, and the fire Silver shot from her mouth did nothing to them. 

She shifted the earth, bending the ground to form a diamond hard wall to their side. She could hear the heavy ‘thunks’ as the traps hit the wall and stuck. She hit the wall with one of her powerful feet, shooting it towards where she knew the Empowered ones were. She knew she got one when she heard an angry yell. 

The Empowered ones emerged from the trees. They all looked different: different shapes, sizes, and colors, but all of them bore the same look and the same feeling. Snobbish, full of themselves, confident that they would win and keep their toys for even longer. She’d never let them take her, never again.

She roared, louder than ever before, her voice rumbling the ground and shaking the air. She spewed fire at them in her anger. Her fiery breath hurting those who commanded the water, the wind from her wings blew away those who commanded the ground, her walls threw those who lived in the air, and the liquid she pulled from the life around her pierced those who controlled the fire. 

No longer would she be controlled by these pathetic beings, no longer would she or her sisters be denied their peace! 

Three other roars joined her own, syncing together and shattering the ears of every living creature. No longer would they kill for them, no longer would they be chained to this world. Now they fought their captors. Their bodies moved and twisted in their fight. Their claws scratched through cloth and flesh, their feet smashed and broke bones. Their teeth bit and ripped off limbs. 

The presence, the One, Silver could feel the One more than ever. He was there now, with them, waiting for something. 

The Empowered ones didn’t bleed, but they were easy to rip into shreds. The four of them tore into them, satisfying their hunger for revenge as arms and heads were thrown. Silver felt the utter pleasure of ripping into Odin’s body as he uselessly threw lightning at her. She ripped his innards out with her claws before ripping him into two pieces. 

Silver looked over, spotting Black gleefully mutilating Poseidon, using his own water to hold him and stab icy spears through every part of his body. White was mauling Artemis and Apollo, her taloned feet holding them down by their necks. Gold was fighting off a horde of other Empowered ones, crushing skulls and sending brain matter flying as she overloaded their minds with her power.

Hundreds of other beings were fighting them, it was difficult to keep track of who she was bating off the back of her, or who was casting spells to sent those infernal traps at them. It was almost overwhelming. 

A strange sound was heard, and the fighting slowed for just a moment as a bright, blinding light appeared off to their left. Silver looked over to see a circle of white light. It was beautiful. 

She knew what she had to do. 

Silver threw her head back and gave a warbling cry to her sisters. She ran towards the light.

“Come! Come to the light, my sisters! The One has delivered!” She yelled, hopping over bodies and fallen trees. She heard their roars in response, their feet padding behind her. Then she heard a cry and looked behind her. 

Gold was in a trap!

She turned, kicking up dirt as she sprinted back to her sister. She swung around, using her tail as a club to strike away a wave of Empowered ones. She looked down and quickly saw that Gold’s right front leg was stuck in the trap.

“Forgive me sister!” Silver said before she  bit into Gold’s leg right above where the chain held. Gold let out a pained yell as Silver ripped off her leg, her sharp teeth biting through her flesh and bone until it was completely amputated. It was the only way she could free her. It didn’t matter that she had to be hurt, all that mattered was getting to the portal before it closed.

Silver hauled Gold to the portal. Black and White were waiting there, the threads glowing brightly from around their necks. They fought off waves of Empowered ones, keeping them from the portal. 

Silver brought Gold to the edge of the light. 

She could never say how she felt at that moment, the joy or the immense relief that almost brought her to tears for the first time in over 10 billion years. She could feel Gold at the edge of her mind, making it all too real that they would finally be free. 

She could feel the light pulling them in, soft tendrils of comfort wrapping around their weary souls and clouded minds. Silver and Gold stepped into the light and let it wrap around them. 

The screams of their sisters made them turn, but to their shock, they could not move their bodies, only crane their necks to see what had happened. And what they saw made them scream, too.

The golden threads, they had changed, turning into golden chains that glowed a hot red from heat. The chains had moved around White and Black’s necks, dragging them back away from the light, into a dark crack that had formed in the earth when they had stepped foot into the light. And suddenly, Silver understood what the Fates had meant. 

Two for two. Where one shall win, the other shall lose.

For one of them to achieve peace, another had to stay and suffer for the rest of eternity. And she and Gold had already stepped into the light…

Fear and horror filled the eyes of her sisters as they were dragged by their golden chains, down deep into the center of the earth, where they would spend eternity. Their feet dug deeply into the ground, clawing at the dirt to try hopelessly climb away from the crack. Their cries were loud and pierced into Silver’s heart worse than anything had ever before. She called their names, struggling against the light in a desperate attempt to go to their aid. Gold struggled, too, even with her missing limb. 

Empowered ones swarmed around Black and White, pushing them in faster. Black and White snapped at the beings. 

Gold reach out to her sisters with her mind, connecting them for the last time. They connected, their desperation and agony molding together. 

Black and White’s minds seemed to change slightly.

‘ We accept our fate ,’ they thought, even as Gold and Silver roared it denial. ‘ Be at peace, sisters. Remember us fondly, as we shall remember you, for our sacrifice will not be in vain. Goodbye. ’ with that, Black and White let go.

Gold and Silver screamed in remorse as their sisters were dragged into the depths of the Earth, the crack closing behind them as they disappeared into the darkness. 

They stood there, trapped by the light for the longest of times, mourning their sisters sacrifice. They screamed and cried, their sounds carrying over miles. The Empowered ones could not touch them, so they slowly dispersed, disappearing back to where they had come from, carrying their dead and wounded. 

It was hours after they were alone that Silver and Gold felt that they could move again. They shifted in the light, unable to move backwards, only move forward further into the light. Silver looked to Gold, who was still leaning on her for support.

“My sister, we must honor their last request, let us be at peace.” She whispered. Gold looked at her with hooded, white eyes. 

“I am tired, Silver, and I am ready to be at peace. But, even there I shall mourn for our sisters.” Gold said hoarsely.

“As will I,” she responded. She nudged Gold’s head and took a step forward. They walked into the light, letting it envelope them, until there was nothing. 

And on that dark day, the portal closed behind them, leaving the world without a trace to what had happened except some broken trees, and some scratch marks in the dirt.


	34. Chapter 33: Found a Sparkling

Chapter 33: Found A Sparkling

Megatronus rolled, ducking under MoonStrider’s staff as she took a swing at his helm. He swiped at her peds, but she jumped over them and brought her staff down again, making him have to roll farther. She wasn’t giving him the chance to stand, aiming lower to keep him on the ground and keep her at the advantage. Megatronus was finding it hard to fight on his back, the arena’s rough terrain poking harshly into his spinal struts. They were sparring, preparing Megatronus for his match the next day.

It had been hard, getting out of Iacon. MoonStrider’s creators did not want to let them go.

They were currently renting a place just down the street of the arena and they visited every cycle.

MoonStrider had told Megatronus all that she could about her past life, letting him ask as many questions as he wanted when she was done with her main story. He had asked her about so many things, and she did her best to tell him, even letting him see some of her memory files so he understood it better. He had been quite impressed with her old form. He had even asked if she had any of her former “abilities”. Obviously she didn’t, the only reason she could do the energy thing was because of her Sire, and his thunderous ability.

He had listened to intently at her words, drinking in a little part of her life and treasuring it in his processors. MoonStrider guessed it was because he was finally realizing why she was how she was: her intelligence, her grace, her strength and powerful presence.

MoonStrider hit the ground with the end of her staff, right where Megatronus’ helm had been just moments ago. Megatronus rolled farther away and was finally able to get on his peds. He took a defensive stance, holding his staff in front of him with both servos. MoonStrider swung around, turning a full 360 degrees, bringing her staff around and catching Megatronus hard in his right leg. This knocked him back onto his aft and MoonStrider followed, pouncing on him and holding her staff across his neck.

Megatronus huffed loudly, pissed that he landed on his aft again.  MoonStrider snickered from above him, leaning down over him with a large smile.

“Ay there, hot stuff,” she purred, wiggling her optical brows. Megatronus made a face at her, looking surprisingly adorable for a mech his size and image. MoonStrider let out a light laugh and kissed his forhelm before sitting up and taking her staff off his neck. Megatronus sat up, MoonStrider still sitting on his lap from where she had pounced on him.  Megatronus rolled his optics and wrapped his arms around her middle before shifting his weight and standing, carrying her in his arms.

MoonStrider was still grinning as he carried her off the field, even as catcalls and wolf-whistles followed them, with the occasional “get some!” by some. They were both snickering by the time they left the arena.

“I think we should... indulge in a little alone time together.” Megatronus suggested with a sly grin, holding her closer and purposely holding her in a way that pushed her whole front against his large chassis. MoonStrider grinned, twining her arms around his neck and crossing her ankles in his hold.

“Now that sounds like a wonderful plan,” she hummed, tightening her arms around his neck to bring him forward for a kiss. They had reached their room, the door opened.

“My darling!” Megatronus groaned at the sound of MoonStrider’s Carrier’s voice.

“Later,” sighed MoonStrider, equally frustrated by her creator’s unexpected (well, not really unexpected, they were rather clingy after they found out she was still alive) visit.

“How did they even get in here?” he grumbled under his breath. How did they sneak past the guards? They must have found a way to slip past them, but even then, how did they enter their room without knowing the code?

These questions were pushed into the back of Megatronus’ mind as MoonStrider slipped out of his grip to stand, before going over and giving her creators a hug. Thundergouge was inspecting their room with a critical optic, and from his look, he wasn’t impressed.

“Oh darling, so this is where you have lived for the past few hundred vorns?” Seajump inquired, looking around with a more accepting optic than his sparkmate.

“It’s shabby,” Thundergouge grouched, earning a smack on the shoulder from Seajump.

“It’s the best we could do under the circumstances, besides,” MoonStrider said, patting Megatronus on the chassis. “It was good enough for us.” Seajump gave Thundergouge a knowing looked, while the darker mech made a tight face.

“Well, I am happy that you were able to find some happiness, even if you were so far from home.” Seajump said, smiling. MoonStrider smiled, “So when can we expect grandsparklings?” Seajump said with a large, delighted grin on his face. Megatronus sputtered and MoonStrider glared at her Carrier.

“Carrier, why?” She deadpanned, giving him  the look .

“Oh, well,” he hummed with a gleam in his optics. “You two obviously are intimate, a femme your age needs a lot of stimulation and that false-spike you have looks underused.”

“CARRIER!” MoonStrider shrieked, “You went through our things?” Megatronus looked on the verge of glitching; one optic was flickering rather worryingly. Seajump waved his creation’s words off like they were nothing.

“Oh, it wasn’t that hard to find, you sure didn’t try hard to hide it.” He retorted. “A cube under a berth isn’t what I’d consider a safe.” MoonStrider groaned.

“Well, we weren’t exactly expecting company, so sorry I didn’t put my dildos away.” she snapped. The two went back and forth for a bit, their conversation getting increasingly more perverted with each statement.

“Who says his spike is too big for me to handle?” MoonStrider questioned.

“I just want to make sure he is preparing you well enough, he is a big mech after all.” Seajump hinted, his digits indicating just how large he might be. He was scarily accurate.

“How the frag would you know how big his spike is? And if you haven’t noticed, Carrier, I am a rather large femme,” she remarked.

“Well…” 

Megatronus had stopped trying to make reason of their conversation; instead, he lounged on the berth next to Thundergouge. Thundergouge stared at him in skepticism. It was not wholly uncomfortable, and he was effortlessly able ignore him. 

It all came to a point where MoonStrider and Seajump both agreed to head out into Kaon for a few jours. They all left the arena and did just that. MoonStrider pointed things out to her creators, shops and places she had better memories of. She’d have to introduce them to Turboshift and Faber. 

Bots gave Seajump and Thundergouge strange looks, wondering why these two bots were with their champions. A few noticed the resemblance between her and them, taking note of the coloring and the audios. 

MoonStrider showed them the music shop, and even played on a few of the instruments. MoonStrider was delightfully surprised when her Sire picked up a Helix-Violins and started to play a tune she had made when she was younger. She then grabbed one and played along with him, adding what she changed over the last few hundred vorns in. It was pretty cool. 

They left and headed to a small bar, her creators and Megatronus went in, but she stayed outside for a moment, needing a bit of air. MoonStrider leaned on the side of the building, looking up at the exhaust-filled sky in thought. 

Her creators were here, and it was only a matter of time before Clench found out, and when he did, the chances of them dying were going to skyrocket. She would have to send her creators off planet for awhile, ask her Sire to take her Carrier on an extended vacation or something to one of the colonies. Then, she’d kill Clench. 

It wouldn’t be too difficult and she’d feel no remorse, the only thing she’d have to worry about is some of Clench’s associates seeking revenge. After she got rid of them, too, she’d bring her Creators back. 

A faint whine made MoonStrider’s audios perk up. She listened, but heard nothing else. She was about to pass it off for some passing cybercat or glitch-mouse when she heard it again, louder this time. She pushed herself off the wall, curios about what was making the sound and why. It sounded like it was coming from the side of the building, but the space was so small that most, not even minibots, could fit in it.

###  She looked into the small space, her helm unable to fit in. MoonStrider spotted movement in the back; something was shifting in the scrap metal that had blown in there during a past rust storm. There was a flash of color, a bit of red and orange. MoonStrider was curious now. Turning to her side, MoonStrider reached in as far as she could. Her digits connected to a quivering piece of warm metal.

###  MoonStrider didn’t grab whatever it was, cautious of what it might be. Instead, she lightly pet it, running her servo over it in soothing circles. The whining and shivering subsided.

MoonStrider traced her digits over the smooth metal, attempting to make out what she was touching. She wasn’t good at it, though.

MoonStrider’s arm was starting to hurt from the awkward position.  It appeared that whatever was back there wasn’t coming out. MoonStrider started to pull her arm out. Something latched onto her arm. It had sharp points that stabbed into her hard armor at multiple points, making her hiss as they dug into the gaps.

She pulled her arm out slowly, whatever it was still clinging to her arm. She finally got her arm out after a bit of maneuvering. She gasped at the sight of what had held onto her arm in such a tight grip.

A sparkling. A a seeker femmling so small that MoonStrider could hold her in one servo. She was orange and black with yellow accents, but her wings were a vibrant shade of red. She had a little yellow chevron and a primarily black helm. But the thing that made MoonStrider gasp, was the fact that the femmling was damaged.

She had no optics. Where her optics used to be was just a pair of cavities with damaged circuitry. Deep, painful gouges surrounded where her optics used to be, as if someone had dug them out. Dents and scratches covered her frame, and her wings were bent at an unnatural angle.

Who would ever do this to a sparkling? MoonStrider thought angrily. She was careful not to hurt the tiny femmling as she peeled her off of her arm. The sparkling cried out in alarm at this, grasping even tighter to her servo. MoonStrider still was able to slide her off her arm. But pulled her close to cradle her against her chassis right after. Big, fat coolant tears dripped down the sparkling face. MoonStrider held her close, letting her spark sooth the sparkling. She was sitting down on the ground now, rocking back and forth to calm the frightened sparkling.

The femmling clung onto her chassis, her sharp little digits digging into her armor, but not hurting her. She looked her over, searching for any injuries as bad or worse than the missing optics. She found none, thankfully. By whatever small grace, the femmling’s optics were not bleeding. The only thing leaking from them being coolant.

She was so small in her arms, so tiny that MoonStrider worried that she’s get lost in her arms.

It took awhile before the sparkling stopped screaming. She continued to sway, even as she slowly stood. The femmling had grabbed onto one of her digits, and was currently chewing on it. 

MoonStrider walked slowly into the bar where her creators and Megatronus were waiting. 

The bar was loud, and MoonStrider was forced to cover the sparkling’s audios. She spotted her company and moved over to them. 

The look on Megatronus’ face when he spotted the sparkling was one she’d cherish in her memory banks for vorns to come. His jaw hit the floor and his optics widened to such a comical size that MoonStrider was tempted to hit the back of his helm to see if they’d go rolling. He was sputtering for a good klick before he was able to form a coherent sentence.

Her creators were much the same, but they were quicker to recover.

“When I said I wanted grandsparklings, I didn’t mean right now.” Seajump said, a grin on his face. MoonStrider grinned back before looking to the bartender.

“Sparkling grade energon, please,” she asked. The mech looked surprised and shocked at the sparkling in one of the grand champion’s arms, but wasted no time in handing over the cube. “A sipper top as well, if you could.” The bartender handed over the sipper top and Seajump helped her put on the cube. The bartender looked over to Megatronus.

“Congrats, Sir,” he said. Megatronus sputtered again. 

“It’s not-,” he began to say before stopping and placing a servo over his face in exasperation. MoonStrider laughed, her shoulders shaking at Megatronus’ defeated look. She moved the cube over to the whimpering sparkling, placing the sipper top to her lips. She latched onto the soft nub and started sucking. MoonStrider was trying to get the sparkling into a much needed recharge, but the noise from the bar made it extremely difficult. She gave an irritant huff before looking towards her accompaniment with a discerning look. Thundergouge knew what to do. He turned on his thunderous ability while Seajump covered the sparkling’s audios tightly.

“ QUIET!” Thundergouge yelled, causing the bar to go into an abrupt silence. Bots gave him death glares, and some even started to speak up, only to be stopped by others, those others then pointed to her and Megatronus. Those bots  backed off when they saw them, and also taking in the sight of her holding a sparkling and the protective gleam in MoonStrider’s optics. 

MoonStrider swayed to the sides, letting it slowly rock the sparkling into recharge. The bar had stopped being deathly silent, and went to a tolerable, and surprisingly comforting, hum in their audios. The femmling slowly fell into recharge, her damaged lids closing over her missing optics. MoonStrider smiled when she removed the cube from the sleeping femmling’s lips, watching as her mouth still moved after as if it was still there. 

“We need to get her to a medic,” Seajump said, looking down at the slumbering sparkling. MoonStrider nodded and they all left the bar. 

Thundergouge led them to a secluded place. MoonStrider looked around in confusion. 

“Sire, why are we here?” She asked, still swaying from side to side. Megatronus stood close behind her, looking over her shoulder at the sparkling. 

“We are going to see an old friend,” Thundergouge said to his creation. The mech pulled out a device and pushed a few buttons on it. 

A groundbridge opened up in front of them. 

MoonStrider blinked.

“You were in possession of remote-controlled groundbridge this whole time?” she asked. “Why did you not use it to come to Kaon instead of taking the carrier ships?” 

“It costs quite a bit of credits for each one, a hundred times more than a ticket on a carrier ship,” he explained before motioning everyone to enter the bridge. 

Moonstrider went through behind her Carrier, Megatronus following close behind her. She exited the bridge and came into a distantly familiar clinic.

An extremely familiar red and yellow mech stood at a medical table, cleaning off his tools. 

“Drillbit!” MoonStrider gasped, smiling widely. The medic looked up at her, confusion lacing his features for a moment. Joyful recognition brough coolant tears to his optics.

“MoonStrider? Can it be?” Drillbit walked forward, craning his neck to look up at her. “My favorite little patient… has come home?” Happy tears ran down the mech’s face plates as she nodded. Her embraced her tightly, his smaller frame smashing into her larger, harder frame. Seajump carefully took the sparkling from her servos so she could embrace him back. 

Drillbit pulled back for a moment, looking up at her with wet optics.

“Oh dear me, my prayers to Primus have come true,” he whispered before turning his helm and yelling, “Hydrogear! Hydrogear, come and see! Our little musician is back!” The sound of pedsteps were heard. 

Hydrogear came into the room with a doubting look on his face plates. He was a grey and purple mech just a few feet under Drillbit’s height. 

His doubting look flattened when he saw MoonStrider, his processors needing a moment to compute just what he was seeing. It took a bit, but soon his face was just as teary as his sparkmate’s, and it didn’t take even one hundredth of a klick before she had two crying medics attached to her midsection. MoonStrider chuckled lightly, rubbing the sobbing medics’ backs. 

It was awhile before she was able to disentangle herself from them. She told them a brief summarization of what had happened to her and introduced them to Megatronus. They were very surprised to see him, knowing that he was one of the Champions of Kaon. But they were even more surprised to find out she was the other one. 

“This sparkling needs medical assistance,” Megatronus said, holding out the sleeping femmling. Drillbit came forward and lightly took the sparking from the gladiator’s arms. He took her to one of the higher berths and attempted to lay her down. But it didn’t work, the sparkling woke up as soon as he tried to set her down. The femmling wailed loudly, her arms waving everywhere. Drillbit grunted as the sparkling whacked him in the face. 

MoonStrider came over and took the sparkling from him. She rocked to the sides and hummed deep in her chassis. The sparkling calmed. 

“Just sit here with her,” Drillbit said. MoonStrider did as she was told and sat on the berth, cradling the sparkling in her arms, but leaving enough room for Drillbit to do his examination. 

“Optics gone, several cracks in her primary spinal strut, hydraulics three and four need to be replaced, and the joints in her arms and legs are all cracked. Not to mention armor and protoform mesh damage.” Drillbit rattled off, running several scans. MoonStrider’s frown deepened with every analysis. What had happened to this poor sparking? Who would hurt her like this? 

“What can you do for her?” MoonStrider asked. 

“I can fix most of the damage, but the optics will be the most difficult. I don’t know if I have any spare ones lying around.” Drillbit said, he turned to his mate and asked him to check the storage for any optics. Hydrogear nodded and walked out of the room. He returned a bit later with a displeased look on his face plates.

“I found some,” he stated, “but they are not good ones.” Hydrogear held out the optics to Drillbit, who inspected them thoroughly.

“These are showman optics,” Drillbit murmured. 

“They’re all we’ve got.” 

“What are showman optics?” Seajump asked.

“They are optics used in theatrical productions,” Drillbit informed. “They are known for their strange coloring. They aren't the best for long usage, but they will be better than going blind.” He took the optics from Hydrogear and placed them on a side table where he placed his tools. “I’m going to have to put her under while i clean out the damaged circuitry in her optic cavities.” 

MoonStrider nodded as she was told all that needed to be done for the sparkling. She was reluctant to let Drillbit instal the showman optics, but it needed to be done. Hydrogear handed her a tiny cube of pink liquid. 

“It will put her into a medical stasis, it’s better to use on sparklings than a needle.” Hydrogear informed with a light voice. She pressed the cube to the sparkling’s lips and the femmling quickly guzzled down the sweet fuel. MoonStrider watched as the sparkling gave a wide yawn and nuzzled down further into her arms. It was a short while later that the sparkling was deep in recharge. Drillbit took the sparkling from her arms and set her on the berth, he waved them out of his infirmary, telling them to come back in a jour when he’d be finished. 

The four of them left, taking to the shining streets of Iacon. 

She stuck close to Megatronus, so close that she frequently bumped into his side. He didn’t seem to care, in fact, he even purposely bumped right back into her! 

MoonStrider made a face as Megatronus’ hip bumped into her side, throwing her off balance. She mumbled a few curses, staring up at him with the biggest, most exaggerated frowny face she could pull. Megatronus rolled his optics, but a smile pulled on his lips. 

MoonStrider decided to get revenge. She pulled her strong hips to one side, then used her momentum to booty-bump Megatronus as hard as she could. 

“Fraggingcreationofaglitch!” he spit out as he stumbled ungracefully, only staying upright due to MoonStrider having mercy and grabbing his arm, even as she cackled. She had to throw her weight in the opposite direction of Megatronus’ ungraceful flailing just to keep him up. She was heaving by the time Megatronus was steadied and giving her the most pissy look he could muster. 

Unknowing to them, MoonStider’s creators were watching them closely, both giving small smiles. Even though Thundergouge still didn’t like Megatronus much, he could see how happy he made his creation. 

A few other bots walking along were also smiling at them, but the pair didn’t notice. 

MoonStrider calmed her laughter, but it was difficult as Megatronus poked her wings in his revenge. She flicked her wings, one hitting him in the arm. The two continued pestering each other until they found a place to wait until Drillbit was finished.

“What should we call the sparkling?” MoonStrider asked suddenly. All this time she had been referring to the sparkling as femmling or sparkling, it would be better if she actually had a name. Megatronus shrugged.

“I don’t know,” he said.

“We should think of one,” Seajump declared, finding a crystal tree to sit under. They had walked to a small park not too far from the clinic Drillbit and Hydrogear worked at. They all sat at a small table set out, Megatronus and her Sire sitting on either side of her while her Carrier sat across from her. The all pondered for a moment.

“Highwing?” MoonStrider suggested.

“That sounds more like a mechling name.” Thundergouge imputed. The others nodded.

“Skybreaker?”

“Too… buff sounding.” 

“Shaderay?”

“Too dark.” 

“Reddust?” Megatronus said and everyone paused for a moment.

“Something with Red in it.” Thundergouge said and everyone nodded.

“I like the thought of something with ‘wing’ in it,” MoonStrider hummed, her helm tilting to one side as she went over designations with Red and Wing in it. Redwing didn’t sound right for her, though. They had to think of something along those lines.

“Crimsonwing,” Thundergouge stated. Everyone thought over the designation, testing it off their tongues to see if it fit with the small sparkling. 

“It fits, her wings are a rather startling shade of red.” Seajump replied. 

“Indeed,” agreed Megatronus. 

“Then that settles it,” MoonStrider chipped, “her designation is Crimsonwing.” 

OoOoOoOoOoO

A jour later, the group headed back to the clinic. They entered and were directed to a back room where Drillbit waited with an awake Crimsonwing. The sparkling was looking around, chirping loudly in distress as she batted Drillbit’s servos away. 

She spotted them instantly, and chirped even louder in distress. MoonStrider came forward and kneeled by the berth, taking in the sight of the femmling’s new optics. They were orange and blue. MoonStrider stuck a servo out and brushed it over Crimsonwing’s helm. She calmed almost instantly, her frame recognising the being that helped her. Crimsonwing looked up at her with wide, curious optics. MoonStrider couldn’t help the smile that inched across her face. 

“She’s all fixed now, but bring her back in a few orns to make sure that everything is set right.” Drillbit ordered, wiping his servos on a stained mesh cloth. MoonStrider nodded and thanked Drillbit for all he had done, he had waved her off and said it was his pleasure. 

Her sire opened the ground bridge with his remote and they headed back to Kaon. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (AN: yay, update! Sorry to yall hoping for a new chapter for The Authoress, I’m almost done with it!
> 
> Crimsonwing belongs to Stormy Z. Nights on Quotev!! 
> 
> NEWS!!! I will be starting up a new story pretty soon. It’s kind of a gift to some special people in my life, so be looking for that. It’s going to be called “Who Cares About Love Triangles, We Have A Love Polygon” It’s going to be very different than what you are used to seeing, because im introducing something not really written about. Its about a polygamist group (of humans) taking in one of the bots into their group. It’s going to be rated M (like all of my stories) but I’m going to add humor and if you see familiar OC names it doesn't mean that it ties with that other story. It’s going to be cool :3  
> TILL ALL ARE ONE!!


	35. Chapter 34: Parenting

Chapter 34: Parenting

They returned to Kaon after the visit with Drillbit and Hydrogear, the now fixed sparkling in tow. Seajump insisted on buying some sparkling supplies for them, and got a hord of toys and other necessities for the sparkling.

MoonStrider didn’t know what to do with Crimsonwing, long term that is. She would keep the sparkling for now, but what about the sparkling’s creators? Where were they? The could be looking for Crimsonwing right now, worried sick over her disappearance.

But a small voice crowed in the back of her helm. 

What if the creators did this?

MoonStrider was no fool, she knew how cruel the world could be, and how not every creation got a good home with loving creators. The sparkling could have been harmed by her creators, her optics taken to be sold in the underground for either their color or clarity. Sadly, it wasn’t an uncommon occurrence. Sparklings in the underground were harvested for their fresh parts, auctioned off to higher castes who needed an heir or just wanted another sparkling. It was a cold and cruel act. 

That is why she hesitated. She didn’t want this sparkling to go back to whatever had hurt her before, but she knew that the Pits were no place to raise a sparkling. The only reason she and Megatronus came out as they did was because she was already grown mentally and Megatronus was with her every step of the way, gaining morals as she did. But even then, they still came out rather terrifying and mean. 

She didn’t want any sparkling to grow up surrounded by such violence and death. 

MoonStrider sighed as she walked down the halls of the arena, heading towards her quarters where Megatronus watched over Crimsonwing. She had gone off to gather their rations for the day and left the femmling in his care. 

She got to their quarters and opened the door, only to grin at the sight that greeted her.

Megatronus was playing with the sparkling, throwing her lightly in the air, only to catch her and bring her down to his face where he made ‘nom’ing noises, causing the sparkling the shriek in laughter, and then repeating the process. He was smiling as he tickled and played with Crimsonwing.

MoonStrider watched them for several minutes, letting her smile widen as Megatronus acted like a complete idiot, just to amuse the sparkling. 

He’d make a good Sire, she thought. MoonStrider walked forward and sat on the ground with them, her wings high in the air from her happy mood. Megatronus spotted her and smiled, giving her a quick wink before returning to his game with Crimsonwing. 

Crimsonwing was still laughing, her arms flapping in the air as she was thrown. It had taken her some time to adjust to Megatronus and MoonStrider, but after a little while she came to like them. Crimsonwing was caught in clawed servos once more and again thrown up. In her excitement, the sparkling accidentally activated her thrusters, making her shoot off to one side. Megatronus had to lean all the way back, until his back was touching the floor, to catch her. 

The femmling looked shocked for a moment, before her face contorted and she let out a wail. Megatronus sat back up, the sparkling sobbing in his arms. The poor mech looked helpless in the situation.

“Is it defective?” he asked, pulling the sparkling to his chassis. MoonStrider smiled and him and shook her helm. 

“Oh, it’s ok, sweetspark” MoonStrider cooed to the distressed sparkling, placing her servo along Megatronus’, patting between her wings to calm her. MoonStider scooted closer to the mech, her body pressing to his side so she could have better access to the distressed sparkling. It took awhile, but the sparklett finally calmed after Megatronus started humming an old song he had learned from his cycles in the mines. 

“That was terrifying,” Megatronus sighed. “How do Creators do this on a cycle basis?” MoonStrider chuckled. 

“Here,” she held out her servos for Crimsonwing and he handed her over. MoonStrider tucked the femmling’s helm under her chin. She then stood, using her wings to help her remain balanced during the action. She walked over to the corner, where they had set up a few things for the sparkling that her Carrier had bought. She also had put her blanket there, letting the sparklett curl up with it at night. 

She had given Megatronus many kisses over her returned blanket.

MoonStrider sat the sparkling down among her plush animals that her Sire had given and a few other toys she had managed to grab. She grabbed a turbo-rabbit and clicked on a small switch on the bottom that made it’s legs kick. she set it down and it hopped all around Crimsonwing, making her orange and blue optics light up with excitement and her wings to fick several times. The older femme smiled as the sparkling made several garbled, babbling sounds that -in her opinion (and secretly Megatronus’, but he’s never admit it)- were painfully adorable. 

She chased after the toy rabbit, her wings bouncing with her movements. She dived to the toy and caught it in her tiny clawed servos, and instantly placed it into her mouth and started chewing on it. MoonStrider smiled, she remembered when she had put most anything into her mouth as a sparkling, like that blue explosive gel. 

MoonStrider leaned over and pulled the toy turbo-rabbit from Crimsonwing’s mouth, instead giving her a rubber circle that was made for sparklings that were teething. Crimsonwing latched onto the squishy, blue rubber and started gnawing on it. 

Megatronus sat on the berth and began to bend out a few dents that he had gotten in his last match, which had been earlier in the cycle. It had been a duel against a group of 5 bots and Megatronus had to injure them to a point where they could no longer fight in that match. Megatronus got out of that fight with a few dents and a slightly cracked wrist joint from when he punched a wall where one of the bot’s helms had been before they moved. 

The match had brought in a considerable amount of credits, even after Clench took his seventy percent.  Which reminded MoonStrider of something.

She stood and sat next to Megatronus, watching over Crimsonwing as she crawled everywhere. 

“What are we going to do about Clench?” she asked.

“I don’t know yet,”

“If he finds out about Crimsonwing, he’ll take her and use her against us.”

“I know, that’s why we have to keep it a secret.”

“Yes, I know that, but numerous bots saw us with her, word is going to get out about her. I don’t think we can keep her here for long,” MoonStrider said sadly, her wings dropping. Megatronus was silent for a moment.

“Give her to your creators, they will take care of her.” he suggested. MoonStrider gave a humorless laugh.

“Make up for the time they missed with me.” she said. Megatronus put down the piece of armor he was working on.

“You know I didn’t mean it like that,”

“Yeah, I know.” she sighed, “we should give her to my creators soon, the pits is no place for a sparkling to be raised.”

“Yes,” Megatronus said, then he paused. “Hey,” he nudged her side, “we came out alright.” MoonStrider smiled and gave a small laugh. She looked to Megatronus, a warm expression crossing her face. 

“We did,” she said, leaning on his shoulder. “Well…” she added, a smirk crossing her face. “maybe not you..." Megatronus let out a loud huff and nudged her hard in the shoulder. MoonStrider fell over onto her side from the shove, laughing the way down. 

OoOoOoOoO

A few groons later it was late into the lunar cycle. Crimsonwing was snoozing in her crib while Megatronus and MoonStrider slept in their berth, both tired from their first cycle as parents of Crimsonwing. Megatronus was far more tired than MoonStrider, she had experience from her past life with younglings, he did not. 

For a moment, all was quiet and peaceful. 

A soft cry came from the crib, and a groan came echoed from the larger berth. 

“I got it,” MoonStrider mumbled, scooting out from in between the wall and Megatronus. She fell to the ground in a heap. She gave a loud sigh before crawling over to the sparkling, with only the light of her crystal to guide her. 

Crimsonwing was curled up in the blanket, the cloth pulled up just below her leaking optics which were bright with fear.

“Oh darling,” she cooed, sitting next to the crib and putting her arms in to grab the sparklett. The sparkling reached up for her, her tiny digits grasping her arms. She lifted her under her armpits out of the crib and into her arms. She clung onto her chassis and cuddled her helm in close. MoonStider hummed, letting the rumble sooth the frightened sparkling. She looked down at the sparkling laying against her, who looked up at her with wide blue and orange optics.

“Did you have a nightmare?” she asked softly. Crimsonwing nodded a little and MoonStrider kissed her helm. “Don’t worry honey, I’ll chase the monsters away.” Crimsonwing sniffed and cuddled closer, her wings trembling. 

MoonStrider began to hum a tune, an old lullaby she sung to her children thousands of years ago. It was soft and full of emotion. She rocked lightly, back and forth as her chassis rumbled with the force of her purr. Her golden optics glowed in the darkness, shedding a golden glow upon Crimsonwing’s tiny helm. Her servo pet the back of her helm, gently soothing away her fears as her ventilations evened out and slowed. 

Words softly escaped past her lips, forming sounds that no one but her had ever heard before. A language long forgotten, but so smooth and flowing that it washed over the smaller being like a silk blanket. This song had worked many times on her more riled children. And it worked on Crimsonwing, too.

The sparklett was fast asleep in her arms, her breathing low and peaceful. MoonStrider decided that the sparkling could sleep with her and Megatronus for this lunar cycle. She stood slowly and walked back over to her berth. She crawled back into her spot, laying Crimsonwing in between her and Megatronus, who -in his sleep- wrapped his arm around them both and brought them close to his large frame. MoonStrider let the femmling settle in the small opening between their frames before cuddling into Megatronus, letting his arm settle over her side.

MoonStrider then closed her dim optics and let the peaceful vents of her family lull her into sleep. 

(AN: WOO CUTENESS. IDK ABOUT YALL BUT I LOVE DORKY MEGATRONUS BEING A WEIRDO JUST TO AMUSE A SPARKLING!!!!

DONT FORGET TO LOOK INTO MY NEW STORY!!! IT IS CALLED “Who needs a Love Triangle, We have a Love Polygon!” It’s about Optimus and a polyamorous group of humans… and it’s hottt~ 

Till all are one!!!


	36. Chapter 35: Wash and Take Over

**Chapter 35: Wash and Take Over**

MoonStrider picked up Crimsonwing and set her on her hip before leaving. Megatronus was still asleep, she had left him a note stating where they were going and how long they were planning to be gone.

Crimsonwing had gotten messy when she had went to give her her morning energon. She had been tossing in her grip and had thrown a tantrum because MoonStrider wouldn’t let her eat the energon goodie before her morning energon. Her tantrum had caused MoonStrider to lose grip of the cube and spill it all over them both. MoonStrider had then put Crimsonwing in time-out for a good klik (much to the sparkling’s anger). It was only until she had calmed down and sat for a bit that MoonStrider came over and sat the femmling on her lap. She had then asked if Crimsonwing knew what she did wrong and if she thought it was ok to do that. MoonStrider got the answer she wanted, a few helm shakes for she wasn’t speaking just yet.

After that and some kisses on cheeks were shared, MoonStrider decided to take them both to the wash racks before the energon got any dryer than it was already.

She decided to go to the community wash racks instead of the standard ones Clench put in for the other Gladiators. She didn’t mind, but the community wash racks were far more sparkling friendly than the Arena’s. So she grabbed some credits and headed out of their room and out of the Arena.

The community wash racks were not too far away, just a few blocks. She carried Crimsonwing down to the local racks, bots giving her various looks on the way there. It didn’t take long before her long legs got them there.

She entered the building. The front door was large and brightly colored, the inside was tiled with blue, silver, and white panels that were cleaner than anywhere else on Cybertron. Bots of all sized walked in and out of locker doors. Some were designated for certain bots: one for those with creations, one for those without, one for mechs, one for femmes, and one for the community. MoonStrider stepped into the one designated for creators or guardians with sparklings or younglings. Bots moved out of her way, recognising her or just from sheer presence alone.

The wash racks were designed to be sparkling friendly: shallow pools, low benches, and even some sprinkler things in one of the pools that sparklings could run and play in.

Crimsonwing buried her helm into her neck, her orange and blue optics peeking out the sides to glance at the other sparklings in the room. MoonStrider smiled and patted her between the wings, which flicked at her touch.

The room was occupied by a few creators and their creations. About a half a dozen sparklings splashed in the pools. The creators sat either with them or on a bench off to the side were showerheads rained down upon them. MoonStrider walked over to one of the benches, stepping over sparklings on her way. She sat down and placed Crimsonwing in her lap. She reached back and turned on the shower. The sovian came out warm and MoonStrider reached over to the soap dispenser and payed for two rations of soap. The small battles popped into the holder and she grabbed them and quickly brought a small sponge. She coated one side of the sponge with soap before lathering it up until it was dripping with suds.

Crimsonwing watched in curiosity, her wings tilted upwards. She made a grab at the sponge, her tiny servos disappearing into the suds she had made. Crimsonwing giggled and smeared the soap across MoonStider’s chassis, looking up at her with bright optics as she laughed. MoonStrider laughed as she smeared bubbles across her chin, making the sparkling have a bubble beard.

Crimsonwing played with the bubbles, all the while, MoonStrider turned her around and soaped up her wings and back. She worked to get the dried energon off, dipping into the nooks and crannies of her armor to make sure she got it all. After she got her back, she turned her around and began to get her front and sides. Crimsonwing giggled and reached up to place some of the bubbles on MoonStider’s chinguard. She laughed at the little one’s antics and made a face, gaining even more laughter from the both of them.

The other creators watched them, some very shocked at MoonStrider’s actions. The Champion of Kaon, making a bubble beard with a sparkling. But others smiled, glad to see that even the toughest of them could have a soft spark.

MoonStrider paid them no mind. She finished getting her sparkling washed and then rinsed. MoonStrider set Crimsonwing down after she finished with that and nudged her to the closest pool.

“Go on, darling.” she encouraged, patting her between the wings. Crimsonwing looked highly reluctant and clung onto her leg with a whine. MoonStrider smiled down at her in reassurance. “It’s ok, I’ll be right here.” Crimsonwing still held tightly to her leg, her tiny arms barely going all the way around. MoonStrider decided not to fight it, she’d let go on her own time. So, MoonStrider grabbed the sponge and her bottle of soap. Reapplying some soap, she began to clean herself, working from her chassis down.

There was a tug on her leg and some chirps. She looked down into the large optics of her sparkling, who was chirping and patting her leg as high as she could reach.

“Hm?” she hummed, lowering her arms as she looked at her. Crimsonwing patted the sponge in her servo and MoonStrider loosened her grip on it, letting the sparkling slip it out of her fingers. Crimsonwing picked up the sponge, it’s size dwarfing her tiny servos. But she was a determined sparkling, and she moved the sponge across her leg.

MoonStrider laughed as she realized what Crimsonwing was trying to do.

“Are you trying to give me a bath, sweetspark?” she asked down to the sparkling, who nodded with a large, open-mouth smile. “Well then, let me move a bit.” Crimsonwing shifted as she moved off the bench, sitting on the floor so the sparkling had more room. “There,” she said with a smile. Crimsonwing moved the large sponge once more, slowly shifting it over her legs. MoonStrider ducked so that she could get the back of her helm when she was done with her legs. It took awhile, but MoonStrider was patient and was amused at the sparkling’s efforts. Finally, MoonStrider was clean and let Crimsonwing guide her over to one of the pools after she turned off the shower.

Crimsonwing splashed around in the pool, her shyness gone now that she was in here with her. The sparkling pounced on the bubbles, popping some but creating more in the process. This led into an endless game of “Pop all the bubbles”. MoonStrider was content to bask in the warm water, letting her wings submerge in the deeper end of the pool. It was nice.

She let Crimsonwing play for about a half a jour before it was time to leave. She took Crimsonwing into the drying room before leaving. After a short walk, she was back at the arena.

She took Crimsonwing back to their room, noticing that Megatronus was gone. MoonStrider didn’t fret, she knew he’d be back within time.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Megatronus hacked at his opponent, ripping pieces out of their frame like it was nothing. Energon spit out of torn cables and oozed from ripped mesh as he dug in with sharp talons. The crowd cheered as they died, their life dripping between Megatronus’s digits as power scorched through his frame. Fighting gave him a high like no other, an invigorating buzz that drove him forward with a strength seldom paralleled.

He lived for this. Not for the killing and forced labor under the iron fist of Clench, but for the fight, the burn, the challenge it presented.

He ripped an arm off of the mech under him, some gladiator from Helix that came here to challenge his title. The little slag had come in, puffed out chassis, shiny finish, and a mouth on him. He had insulted Megatronus several times, and Megatronus dished out quite the verbal assault himself. The insults were tossed back and forth throughout the match, but the turning point was when the cheeky little glitch said something along the lines of “after he defeated Megatronus, he’d go lay claim on his little champion whore.”

Obviously this was the worst thing to say to him. It was obvious because Megatronus kicked his aft right after. Now he was dead, and the crowd was cheering one name.

MEGATRONUS!

Megatronus ripped the helm from the mech’s frame and held it up to the crowd. They roared in response, cheering loudly as the dead mech’s energon trailed down his wrist and down his arm. He raised his other arm, holding his sword high in the sky. The crowd chanted his name in response.

MEGATRONUS!

MEGATRONUS!

He liked the sound of it, his name being screamed in awe and the power it filled him with. Megatronus threw the severed helm towards the crowd and mechs dived for it. He walked off the field, energon dripping down his front and his helm held high.

He was undefeated. No mech could beat him.

He headed to the wash racks and cleaned himself off, he didn’t want to go back to his quarters and chance scaring Crimsonwing. He’d already got her comfortable around him, it wouldn’t be good to get her scared of him again just because he didn’t decide to wash the evidence of his opponent’s death.

He got to the wash racks and began to wash down his frame. He was in the middle of getting his back when his comm pinged.

He checked it and let out a loud huff when he saw it was a hail from Clench. Megatronus was to be in his office in three klicks, which gave him barely enough time to finish his wash. He gave another huff and finished his wash.

Three klicks later, Megatronus was in Clench’s office.

Megatronus had a bad feeling in his gut. The darker atmosphere and Clench in general set his denta on edge, and the extra four mechs in the room with them didn’t help lessen it.

Megatronus looked over the mechs, noting that they were apart of Clench’s higher circle of mechs, the ones that ran the arenas under Clench. They varied in sizes, the largest coming up to his chassis. He sized them up based on known strength, they were experienced fighters, but Megatrons could easily kill every last one of them.

Clench looked up from the datapad he was pretending to read, his face turning falsely pleased at his “unexpected” visit.

“Megatronus! My Champion.” he said, standing with his arms outstretched as if he was welcoming him home from some trip. Megatronus kept his face stern and mildly displeased.

“Clench,” he said with obvious distaste. “Why have you called for me?” Clench sighed with an exaggerated facetious manner.

“So rude, Megatronus. Too harsh for pleasantries with the mech that saved your life,” he continued in the same manner. Megatron let out a humorless laugh.

“More like chained and enslaved me. I could have done without your ‘saving’” he hissed. Clench gave him a dangerous look and Megatronus glared back.

“Be careful what you say, Megatronus.” Clench said lowly. “There are many things that I have, that I’ve saved for you. And I can take them away just as easily.”

Megatronus’s armor bristled, puffing out in his anger and making him look even bigger. The other four mechs in the room (besides Clench) flinched back as this happened. They had a stare off for a long time, neither willing to submit to the other. It was Clench that broke the silence.

“I called you here for a reason Megatronus.” he started and Megatronus slowly pulled his armor back to his frame.

“Why then?” he asked.

“The profits from your matches are lowering drastically.” Clench informed, his tone turning displeased and serious. Megatronus raised an optical brow, curious and slightly concerned over this information.

“And why is that?” he asked.

“You,” the arena Master said bluntly, causing Megatronus to let out a confused sound. So he continued. “You are winning every match, and no bot wants to see a fight they already know the outcome from. We need that to change.”

“What do you mean?” Megatronus asked with a harsher tone, not liking what Clench was implying, but wishing to hear it straight from his mouth.

“We need you to lose.”

Megatronus was silent for a long moment, shocked by Clenches statement.

He wanted him, the Champion of Kaon, to lose a fight, to be beaten by some lesser mech?

Megatronus threw his helm back and let out a loud, bellowing laugh. The mechs in the room shifted as the laugh slowly turned maniacal. They all watched as his laughs slowly dimming down before they cut off. His helm slowly lowered, a large grin on his face and a glint in his optics.

“Is that so?” he said lightly, a dark underlying implication piercing through their sparks.

Clench returned Megatronus’s dangerous look, but not to the same degree.

“Yes, and you will lose, Megatronus.” he ordered. Megatronus was getting tired of Clench: his demands, his pompous attitude, how he dangled MoonStrider’s life before his face like a toy.

Megatronus leaned forward, his large frame hovering over the desk. His face contorted in his contained rage.

“No,” he hissed. Clench’s own face pinched.

“You will!” he spat, slapping his servos down on the desk and leaning forward himself, right into Megatronus’s face.

“Never, Clench! I will continue to win matches whether i bring the credits in or not! You and your lackeys can shove a strut up your afts! You think you can control me, Clench, but you can’t.” his voice rattled the artifacts on the shelves. Two of the mechs in the room jumped onto Megatronus’s back, making his legs buckle under the unexpected weight. Clench looked down at him, his dental clenched tightly in rage at his disobedience.

“YOU INSOLENT MECH! I’LL HAVE YOU TIED UP BY YOUR PEDS! I’LL HAVE YOUR FEMME AND THAT LITTLE RODENT YOU CALL A SPARKLING gutted IN FRONT OF THE WHOLE ARENA FOR YOUR DISOBEDIENCE!” Clench bellowed out, oral lubricant spraying from his mouth from the force of it.

Something within Megatronus snapped. He would never let this swine touch what belonged to him, never. It was like a dam expanding, he was tired of being controlled by others, he wanted to give the orders.

And now he would.

Megatronus jumped to the side, sliding out his sword and impaling one of the mechs on it. Energon sprayed onto his face as he used the force of his dive to lift the mech off the ground and then throw him over his helm into one of the other’s mechs. The second one died after he started shooting acid pellets at his back. He met a gruesome end at the tip of his sword, seeing it first hand as it went through his optic.

He plowed into the third, bashing him in the gut with closed fists. The fourth mech jumped onto his back and started to wail on his helm. Megatronus let go of the mech in front of him and reached back to grab the mech on his back by his shoulders before throwing him off and into the other.

The two mechs were quickly taken care of, their bodies laying on the ground, their energon staining the floor as their frames turned gray. Megatronus looked and noted, with anger, that Clench had escaped in the chaos.

He felt… good, Powerful even. He finally got rid of the mech that had been holding him back from his full greatness. Now, he controlled the ring.

He turned and headed for the door, not seeing his reflection in the shiny walls of Clench’s -former- office.

His optics were discolored.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (AN: hehe… Im evil~ AND YOU ALL LOVE ME!!! Mwahahahaa!! *Thunder cracks*
> 
> Now, if any of you read “Transformers: Exodus” you will recognise where i got the last part from :3 Which meeeaaannnsssss~~~~~~~~ *Intense screaming*
> 
> I’ll let you find that out yourselves >;)
> 
> Yes im an evil bitch, but you all read my stories anyway ;3
> 
> Till All Are One!!!


	37. Chapter 36: Moving

Chapter 36: Moving 

Megatronus barged into his quarters, startling MoonStrider and Crimsonwing.

His optics were back to normal, but energon covered his front and scratches littered his frame from both his match and the brawl in Clench’s office. 

“Get up and get your things,” he said in a stern voice. MoonStrider looked both curious and taken aback.”Quickly!” he hissed urgently. She nodded and sat Crimsonwing into her crib before gathering things into a subspace crate. 

“What happened?” she demanded as Megatronus came over to assist her in her packing. 

“Clench called me to his office after the match. Said I was winning too much, and that I needed to lose a few rounds or else.” he hurriedly explained, tucking away a few of MoonStrider’s crystals after wrapping them up in some mesh. MoonStrider knew what “or else” meant. It was the same thing Clench threatened her with. 

“And?” she pried.

“I took care of it.” 

MoonStrider paused in her packing. Her helm turned so she could look directly at him.

“Took care of it?” she said in a demanding tone.

“Yes,” he stopped, too, and turned to her. He lightly grabbed her shoulders, smearing energon along them unthinkingly. “MoonStrider,” he said softly, meant to pacify her rising anger. “We run the ring now.” 

MoonStrider was at a loss for words. She got the jist of what he meant, but it was hard to comprehend just what he was saying now. 

“What do you mean?”

“I killed them, MoonStrider, Clench’s men. They jumped me in his office when I refused to obey Clench. I killed his leading officials and Clench fled the arena.” he further explained, rubbing his digits into her arms. 

“Then… why must we pack?” she asked.

“You need to take Crimsonwing somewhere safe until I can find Clench and the rest of his men.” 

MoonStrider understood. She needed to protect the femmling from any assassin that Clench might send in revenge for Megatronus making him turn tail. And she understood that she must be the one to do it, the only other being besides Megatronus that could protect her. They didn’t trust anyone else to. 

She nodded and spoke, “I will take her to my Creators, and from there I will take her and hide somewhere in Iacon until it is safe again.” She leaned forward and placed a kiss upon Megatronus before leaning back. “You in the meantime, will stay safe as well. I don’t want to come back and find out you got yourself killed just because you took on an army with no backup.” Megatronus smiled as she did and promised her he would.

OoOoOoOoOoO

“My darling!” Seajump yelled in delight, walking forward before wrapping his arms around her midsection. 

“Hello, Carrier.” MoonStrider said as her Carrier squeezed her midsection. Seajump pulled back and smiled up at his creation. 

“So, you need a place to stay?” he asked before waving his servo towards their housing unit when she nodded. “Let's talk inside.” She followed her Carrier into the housing unit, dragging the crate -which was on wheels- behind her. She left the crate in the main room and carried Crimsonwing into the living area where her Creators sat. She sat on one of the chairs, holding her sparkling in her lap as she played with one of her toys. 

“Alright, what happened,” Thundergouge said bluntly and MoonStrider sighed. She explained all that had happened, leaving out nothing as she did. Thundergouge’s face plates pinched into a heavy scowl. Seajump looked more worried than anything else. 

“So now I am here,” MoonStrider finished, patting Crimsonwing on the top of her helm when she looked up at her. 

“Well you can’t stay here,” Thundergouge stated, earning a shocked look from Seajump. Seajump was about to yell at Thundergouge when MoonStrider spoke up.

“He’s right, Carrier. I cannot stay here, this is the first place Clench will look for me and Crimsonwing. I need to hid somewhere highly populated where it will be hard to pick me from the crowd, which is why I came to Iacon.”

“But darling, how are you going to hide in a city filled with grounders and flyers?” Seajump asked sadly. MoonStrider softly smiled at her Carrier.

“Iacon is highly diverse, I’ll be able to hide well enough. I’ll be getting an apartment in the lower levels, work in some shop or something until Megatronus catches Clench.” 

“I’ll be able to find you a place, don’t worry about rent, I’ll take care of that,” Thundergouge waved his servo, cutting off MoonStrider’s refusal before it escaped her lips. “Don’t say anything, I want to do it.” MoonStrider shut her mouth before slowly nodding.

“Thank you,” 

Thundergouge nodded back and turned to Seajump before speaking,

“Let us collect some of MoonStrider’s belongings for her new apartment.”

“Some more things for Crimsonwing, too.”

And with that, the three set off to prepare for MoonStrider and Crimsonwing’s new home. 

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

MoonStrider looked around her new apartment in the third underlevel of Iacon (which meant she was three levels underground). It was where the lower caste of Iacon lived, yet not the lowest. The lowest was the industrial workers and the miners, who inhabited the fourth underlevel and down. The level she was on was the engineers: the builders. 

The walk to her apartment was a… strange one, she’d say. The streets were lit with large, fluorescent lights that burned on all scales of brightness. Some places were so dark that she couldn’t see anything but the next light ahead. 

The buildings were high, each a different column that held up the next layer and the ones above it. Each one had either a small business on its base level or entirely made of apartments. Everything littered the streets: spare parts, junk, even some bots. Thankfully the main streets were clear for traffic. 

Bots whizzed by in alt mode, uncaring for the speed limit because there was no law enforcers to back them. 

Many bots stared at her as she walked down the street. Some in curiosity, some in awe, and even some in lust as she walked by, pushing her cart. 

Crimsonwing was in her sparkling hold, safely nestled in her reinforced chassis. 

No bot approached her, thankfully. She was larger than the most of them, and the large, sharp sword that hung on her back helped. She doubted anyone recognised her as the femme Champion of Kaon.

She had made it to her apartment and checked in. The owner of her building was an older model, a Mech named Tightscrew- whose personality was as uptight as his name-, and his mate, a kind old femme by the name of Brightbit. MoonStrider liked the both of them. Her and Brightbit hit it off right away, and Brightbit adored Crimsonwing, and Crimsonwing seemed to like her too (Brightbit gave her an energon treat).

She liked her apartment, surprisingly. It was small (bigger than her previous quarters), but with a bit of decorating, it would be more than comfortable. It was four rooms all connected. There was a small walkway when she first walked in that lead to a mid-sized main room that was furnished with a single couch and a table, a window overlooked the road. An open kitchen was to the left, just a few cabinets and a small, dinky energon refiner. A door to the far wall lead to her new room, which had a large berth in the center and another door on the left that lead to her wash racks. 

It would do well for her and Crimsonwing.

MoonStrider looked around the apartment some more, noting that she should do a sweep-down of the place before she unpacked. She moved to the window, noting that she was higher up, around the thirtieth floor, which appeased her seeker coding that was currently in the fritz for being underground. 

She felt a tap from the inside of her chassis. She turned and went to sit at the couch. Her chassis split down the middle and folded back to reveal her well-protected spark chamber, and another chamber that was not translucent like her spark chamber. That chamber clicked and swung open. MoonStrider held her servos up towards the chamber and Crimsonwing crawled out. 

MoonStrider sat Crimsonwing on her lap and smiled to her. The sparkling reached up with tiny servos to pat her cheeks, which made her smile wider. 

She let Crimsonwing play with her toys as she cleaned their new apartment, scrubbing everywhere just in case of anything. After that, she unpacked. Most things went into her room, besides a few chairs that her Sire had stuffed in her crate and a few cloth pillows that were imported from some organic planet. 

A crib was set up right next to her berth, placed in the corner farthest from the door, so that in case of a break in, MoonStrider could easily defend her. She also stationed several hidden weapons throughout the apartment, each out of reach of any curious sparkling in caution. 

It had been a long cycle, and both Crimsonwing and MoonStrider were exhausted. MoonStrider sprawled onto her berth, too tired and not really caring to put Crimsonwing in her crib, content with just letting her sleep with her tonight. 

MoonStrider started working in an orns time, at some shop in the agricultural side of Iacon. It was a shop that sold finery to the upper castes: jewels, cloth, expensive wax and paint, etc. Her Sire had also gotten her an entertainment job at a few bars, calling in an old favor with the showman manager landed her an entertainer position. She wasn’t happy about the position, she didn’t want to deal with all the drunk bots, but her Sire said it was the good place that would hire a femme like her with no questions asked. MoonStrider tried to see the bright side of things, at least she’d have access to some instruments while she entertained the bars, it would be nice after dealing with Nobels all day.

She still didn’t like it. She sighed, at least she should be thankful for some form of income. Her Creators offered, but credits were easy to track, and some would get suspicious if a wealthy merchant like her Sire started sending a large amount of credits went to an unknown address. 

MoonStrider decided to think more in the morning and closed her optics, letting the calming breaths of her sparkling lull her to recharge. 

**  
  
**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (AN: Weeee~ another chapter!! I AM SO EXCITED BECAUSE I KNOW EVERYTHING THAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN IN THE CHAPTERS TO COME AND AAAHHHHHHHHHHH! 
> 
> calmmmm
> 
> Ok
> 
> So my parents found out about me and my polly group…. yeeahh, it didn’t go down so well. 
> 
> Till All Are One!~


	38. Chapter 37: New Job

    Chapter 37: New Job

    The orn passed faster than MoonStrider thought, it seemed like only a cycle and she was now working in the upper part of Iacon. She walked around the shop, placing wares of all sorts on shelves and hooks. The other workers, a femme and mech, watched her, each eyeing a part of her frame, namely her hips. She found it rather amusing.

    She had been very skeptical when she left her apartment this morning after her Carrier arrived via ground bridge to watch Crimsonwing. It was a bit risky, but until MoonStrider could find someone she trusted enough to watch Crimsonwing, her Carrier would have to do it. She left her building and flew to her new job.

    She had landed in front of the store with a grace that was seldom paralleled, drawing the optics of many. She had strode into the shop, a slight frown on her face. Again, she drew optics. She had looked around for the manager, noting that she was taller than all the shelfs by a few feet, the tallest one coming up just under her breast plate. All sorts of things filled the shelves, things from clothes to jems to pendants made of fine metals and woven crystals.

    She couldn't spot the manager. One of the workers came up to her, a pretty femme with light yellow plating and purple and white accents.

    “Can I help you?” she asked eagerly, a look in her optics that made MoonStrider want to smile pridefully. It was a wantful look, not in a bad sense like some, but the look of respectful desire. It was the first time someone had looked at her and hadn’t thought of taking and dominating her.

    “Yes,” she said lightly, “I am looking for the manager, I set to meet with them.” The femme blinked in slight surprise before nodding and motioning for her to follow her. They went to a back room (MoonStrider had to duck to get through the door), where a green and yellow mech sat taking inventory. The mech looked up and spotted her and her yellow guide, an angry look coming onto his face.

    “Orchid, you know customers are not supposed to be back here!” he hissed, making the small femme shrink back. MoonStrider stepped forward.

    “You must be Bluering,” she stated. “I’m here for my shift.” Bluering’s helm moved back and his optics widened as he looked up at her.

    “You’re Thundergouge’s creation?” he asked in disbelief. She nodded. “Damn, that mech sure knows how to make ‘em,” he grumbled. MoonStrider had to stop her optics from rolling back in their sockets.

    “Yes, I am MoonStrider.” she informed, her back straight and her chin high. The yellow femme, Orchid, looked up to her.

    “You are working here?” she asked in a lower voice, her optics bright.

    “Yes, I will be working here.” she said. Orchid’s audios flicked a few times as she looked up at MoonStrider cutely, clearly pleased with this.

    She got assigned to stock the shelves, which she was now doing. She put everything neatly on the shelves, making sure to dust them before. She could feel both Orchid’s and Bluering’s optics on her, making her both amused and slightly devious. She purposely bent over to reach the lowest shelf. She placed one of the small crystalline pendants there and stood back up. Throwing a glance over her shoulder, she saw Orchid’s face was bright blue and Bluering was gone, a flap of cloth over the back room showing his hasty departure. MoonStrider stifled a snicker, but allowed a large grin to cross her face. She was going to be working with these bots for awhile, so why not have a bit of fun while she was away from Kaon?    

    The thing about cybertronians that MoonStrider found different from (most) organics was the fact that having multiple lovers was the norm. Very few chose to be with one bot and only that one bot. Even she and Megatronus, they had friends in Kaon that they went to, but they stuck with one another most of the time for trust reasons.

She wasn’t going to jump on anything just yet, though. She opted to wait until she was a bit more settled before looking for something.  

But teasing her coworkers was just too fun! She made sure to look as serious as possible while doing so, just to add to the sense of her “untouchable seductress”. She added an extra sway to her walk, some movements with her wings as well. If she kept this up, she’d make one of them blow a gasket or something, she was sure of it. She kept the large grin off her face until she was facing the other way.

They got quite a few customers, more than usual Bluering had said. Each had come in, walked around for the longest time before buying something small and leaving. Seekers were not all that common, especially femme seekers, so all wanted a peek at her.

After a while, she was done stocking the shelves and went on to help with some of the consumers. Femmes and mechs came in, some wanted to see the jewelry so she’d take them to the case and show them. Some asked her to try on some so that they could see what it would look like on someone else. She preferred not to, but obeyed the customer’s wishes.

She tried on a few bracelets, letting the consumers take her servo and twist her wrist this way and that to get a good look. A few times she tried on a headpiece, the little dangly crystals falling to the center of her forhelm. She became the unofficial model for the store after that, and she now allowed Orchid to put some of the cloths on her so that the group of customers could see how it worked and looked.

“Here we have a silk piece imported from the nova sector. It Orchid explained, lightly pushing MoonStrider into positions to best show what she was explaining. MoonStrider moved easily with Orchid’s gentle prods, turning to the side as Orchid explained the part of the cloth that trailed to the center of her back.

She pinged her Carrier though their bond, checking in on them for the fourth time that cycle just to make sure they were all good. Her Carrier sent over what he could, stating that everything was alright, that her apartment was horribly bland, and that she needed a better couch. She allowed a smile at her Carrier’s words. She replied stating that she already knew it was a horrible couch and that she planned on getting some decor.

Seajump replied quickly.

‘No no no, let me do that. You have horrible taste for a seeker, you’ll just make it worse.’ he humphed.

‘My taste is fine, Carrier. You are overzealous, next thing we know you’ll be rebuilding my whole building because one of the corners looks off!’ she teased though the bond, enticing more huffs from her Carrier.

“And that is the silk one!” Orchid’s voice broke through. “Next is an embroidered cape, made specially for high occasions.” Orchid pulled the silk cloth off her and went to grab a small ladder to put behind MoonStrider. Orchid stepped on the ladder so she could reach MoonStrider’s shoulders.

“Um,” she heard Orchid lightly whisper. MoonStrider confused for a nanoclick before realizing her wings would make the cape look funny. With a bit of concentration, MoonStrider shifted her wings to lay flat on her back. Orchid whispered a thank you, which MoonStrider nods back. Orchid takes a moment to fix the cape to her shoulder guards, bundling up the cloth slightly under them and letting the middle of the cape drape down a bit to expose her back.

MoonStrider liked the cape, it felt like something she could wear.

Her stance was tall and strong, and to others, she looked misplaced in the small shop. She looked like royalty, and when she walked around to show off the cape, she moved like one.

The cape was blue and gold, matching MoonStrider’s paintjob and optics. It was supposed to drag far behind a bot, it was meant for grand entrances, but was taken off right after. For MoonStrider, it only dragged lightly on the floor, and it would leave the floor completely if she tucked it under her shoulder guards just a bit more.

MoonStrider turned back to the group after she walked a bit with it, letting the end of the cape cover her peds slightly. She looked into the mirror and saw herself.

Indeed, she did look grand.

MoonStrider let Orchid take the cape off of her and then went back to work.  

She was sweeping the floors when a older mech came in. It was obvious he was of high standing and had more credits on him than one could spend in their lifecycle. He came in with a smile plastered on his face, and bad intentions hidden underneath. He walked around the store for a moment, apparently looking for something. His optics trailed over to her, and he looked at her in interest for awhile before going back to his search. During this time, Orchid was slowly shuffling her way towards her, ducking behind shelves when the mech came close. She gave MoonStrider a pleading look when she got close enough, then MoonStrider understood.

The mech was looking for Orchid, but Orchid obviously didn’t want to be found.

MoonStrider motioned to the back room inconspicuously, but Orchid shook her helm before mouthing “He’ll look there.” A scowl crossed deeply on MoonStrider’s face, not towards Orchid, but to the mech that was bothering her. She handed Orchid the broom before approaching the mech, Orchid softly calling for her to stop.

She didn’t, and went right up to the mech, towering two helms above him.

“May I help you?” she asked tersely.

He looked up to her, “Ah yes, I’m looking for that little yellow femme, Orchid her name is. Where is she?” he asked in a tone that made MoonStrider bristle. He spoke slow, as if she was unable to understand his words otherwise. Like she was some incompetent lower being.

“She is currently unavailable, Is there anything I can get you?” she said.

“Yes you can, you can get my that little yellow femme.” he snapped pompously.

“She is unavailable, is there something you wish to buy?” she blew off his order, keeping a calm composure that pissed the mech off.

“No-”

“Then I must ask you to leave.” she interrupted. MoonStrider did not like this mech, so she didn’t mind pissing him off. Besides, he made Orchid uncomfortable, and whoever could make a sweet little thing like Orchid scared was not welcomed around her.

“Listen here, you seeker scum, do you know who I am?!” he hissed, his armor puffing out. Clearly he was not intimidated by MoonStrider’s size or presence. MoonStrider almost laughed. The mech thought that because he was higher cast that she wouldn't hit him. “I am of the Alfa cast, I am the owner of Cybertron’s largest energon mine!” he boasted.

“Congratulations,” she said in the same calm tone as she did before, just with an implied note of sarcasm. “But you must leave.”

The mech proceeded to yell at her some more, in which MoonStrider replied with calm comments that pissed him off more. This went on until Orchid stepped out from behind the shelf.

“MoonStrider, please, he isn’t worth it,” she whispered, looking down at the floor. The mech made and “ah” sound before shoving past MoonStrider and going up to Orchid.

“Hello Orchid,” the mech purred, his optics predatory as they looked her up and down. MoonStrider’s wings hiked up in anger as the mech suddenly grabbed Orchid, and inappropriately too!  “Haven’t seen you in some time, would have been sooner if that glitch infested seeker hadn’t got in the way.”

She held back a hiss, glaring at the mech and waiting for the moment she could haul his aft out of the store.

“She isn’t glitch infested, she is nice,” Orchid’s voice got quieter with each word and the mech’s face dropped into a deeper scowl with each. He sent a nasty look over to MoonStrider.

“Heh,” he sneered, “any seeker is riddled with viruses, they’ll lay with anything that moves.” Orchid’s helm dipped low, her optics downcast as she cowered away from the mech. The mech grabbed ORchid’s wrist tightly. “We are leaving, I’m rather angry right now so I need something to… calm me down.” the mech grinned with his words and began to drag a fearful Orchid behind him.

MoonStrider moved forward quickly and seized the arm that held Orchid.

“Let her go,” she hissed, squeezing until the metal dented.

“Release me seeker scum!” the mech roared.

“Not until you release Orchid!” she bellowed back, anger showing clearly upon her features.

“I will do as I please to her! And I will please myself as much as I want with her!”

“She is obviously unwilling to go with something as vile and putrid as yourself, so unhand her and be gone from this place!”

“YOU CRETIN! YOU DARE TO SAY SUCH THINGS TO ME?! I AM-”

MoonStrider grew impatient and sent an electrical charge down his arm that made him release Orchid from his grip. She grabbed him by the scruff bar and hauled him up and out of the store. She threw him out onto the street, making him land in a heap and drawing the optics of all walking past.

“You wench,” he hissed, standing up. He pulled a blade out, his optics bright with anger. She heard Orchid and Bluering exit out into the street behind her. A crowd gathered, all optics curious and thirsty for some excitement.

MoonStrider looked closely at the blade as the mech rambled on, noting that it was poorly made and had several weak points in its structure. She doubted that it could do anything but scratch her armor.

She clearly wasn’t listening, and the mech knew it, and it angered him. He let out a yell MoonStrider assumed was his “war cry”. It was a rather pathetic one. He charged forward, his blade held in a position that implied that the mech did have training, but it was minimal and basic. MoonStrider widened her stance.

The mech came within distance and slashed his sword down.

There was a loud clang and the crowd gasped.

MoonStrider held the sword between her servos, her palms pressed tightly to the sides and preventing it from moving any farther. With one jerk of her servos, she snapped the sword in half.

The pieces fell to the ground with loud clangs and the mech stepped back, his optics wide with disbelief.

Really, it wasn’t that hard, all she had to do was snap it at the weak spot.

She looked down at the shattered, sad excuse of a sword and got an idea. Looking up she gave a small smirk.

“Want to see mine?” she said and reached behind her to grasp at a bar that aligned with her armor. She pulled it, allowing the transformation sequence to run its course. She pulled out her sword, which had been apart of her armor previously. The sword hummed and clinked, the parts going back together until it was a complete sword.

Tip to ground, it was taller than the mech in front of her.

Said mech’s optics were wide enough for MoonStrider to play tetherball with.

“Leave and do not come back,” she ordered, hitting the sword towards the ground, sending sparks flying. The mech said nothing, just ran, and MoonStrider turned and returned to the store.

She finished with her shift a groon later and went out to do some errands before heading home. It took awhile for her co-workers to calm down. Bluering retold the story over and over again to anyone who would listen, and Orchid clung to her arm with wide, dowy, awe-filled optics. She had gotten annoyed with Bluering, but she couldn’t complain about Orchid, the femme was just too damn adorable.

She bought a few things at the market: some crystals that she could turn to energon, a few goodies for Crimsonwing, and some paint so she could do something with her bland walls. She then headed home after her long first cycle at work. If every cycle was exciting as this one, then she definitely wasn’t ready for her shift tomorrow.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (AN: ANOTHA’ it is done~ MoonStrider’s new job, and it’s pretty crazy. Orchid’s a cutie and she has a crush an MoonStrider :3
> 
> Due to this story getting over 200 reviews on Fanfiction, I will be making either a smut chapter or a smutty one shot. Stay tuned! And if you wish to partisipate in the ART GIVEAWAY go to Fanfiction and review on there :3
> 
> MAY THE ODDS BE IN YOUR FAVOR MY FRIENDS!!
> 
>  
> 
> Till All Are One!


	39. chapter 38: Data Pad Stand

Chapter 38: Data Pad Stand

The cycle was strangely bright compared to the others. Forecasters claimed that a solar wind had brushed a lot of the pollution to another part of Cybertron for now, and it would be a few cycles before the ozone spread back to normal.

MoonStrider decided to take Crimsonwing out to a park before she had to go to her entertainment gig at a bar in upper Iacon. She took her to a small park that had a play set, some slides, bars that younglings could swing back and forth on, and some tunnels that they could crawl through. MoonStrider watched from the side, chatting with Orchid, who she invited before coming.

“So, you just moved to Iacon?” Orchid asked, sitting close to MoonStrider, who was leaning on a large metal tree that had purple crystal blossoms. MoonStrider didn’t mind Orchid’s closeness, it was nice to have company.

“Yes, I got here an orn before I started working.” MoonStrider replied.

“Where from?”

“Kaon,” Orchid made an sound and MoonStrider looked over to see her covering her mouth plates with both servos. “Is something wrong?”

“No no!” Orchid said quickly, waving her servos in the air. “It just explains a lot!”

MoonStrider nodded and looked back to Crimsonwing, who was on the bars.

“Crimsonwing is a cutie,” Orchid said, trying to change the topic. MoonStrider smiled.

“Yes, she is,” she hummed lightly.

“Her Sire is sure lucky,” Orchid said is a strange tone. It was a normal tone, yet something lingered under her voice, jealousy? or curiosity? She concluded that Orchid trying to pry and see if MoonStrider was in a tight relationship with anyone else. Sneaky, but not quite.

“I don’t know who Crimsonwing’s Sire is,” MoonStrider stated, deciding to give Orchid’s processors a twirl. Orchid’s face looked just as confused at MoonStrider had hoped.

“But wouldn't you have had to-” she made a gesture with her servos. MoonStrider let her stew in her confusion for a moment, a little, harmless pay back for Orchid’s loose tongue. She finally granted mercy on her and leaned over and said.

“Crimsonwing is not my creation.”

“What?” Orchid asked, still looking just as confused. MoonStrider sat back up, her optics still locked on Crimsonwing.

“I found her in an ally, badly injured. I took her home with me and got her medical treatment, she had been with me ever since.” she explained.

“In an ally? That’s horrible!” Orchid gasped, scooting closer still until her front was pressed against her arm.

“Yes, it is. Thankfully, she has made a full recovery and seems to be doing well mentally as well.”

MoonStrider watched as Crimsonwing swung on the bars, but then her grip failed. Crimsonwing fell off the bars, which was a good mecho-meter off the ground, a fall like that could break something. MoonStrider dived forward, jolting Orchid off her arm as she did. Crimsonwing made a loud chirping screech as she fell, her little arms flailing.

MoonStrider was by her then, but, just before she was able to catch her, Crimsonwing’s thrusters ignited for the first time. The tiny sparkling spun off in another direction, her thrusters pushing her through the air. MoonStrider dived again, her leg slipping on the ground, causing her to fall on her side. She was able to catch the flying femmling just before she lost her balance, tucking her into her chassis as she fell to her side.

Crimsonwing’s thrusters were still going, causing MoonStrider to have to grab onto her a little tighter, even though the force of the sparkling’s thrusters had little to no force against her grip. But she still held tighter, no good in dropping the sparkling just because she had slippery digits.

Crimsonwing was sobbing, her frightened face buried into MoonStrider’s chassis. MoonStrider looked down at Crimsonwing and spoke softly.

“Crimsonwing, hun, you need to calm down and turn off your thrusters.” she soothed, rubbing the sparkling’s back. Crimsonwing was hard to calm down, but she needed to, thrusters took up a lot of energy and MoonStrider didn’t want her sparkling to lose all her energy.

Slowly, Crimsonwing calmed, her thrusters slowing until they were just rotating with no flame. She sniffed, rubbing her face into the crook of MoonStrider’s neck. MoonStrider took Crimsonwing over to where she sat before with Orchid. She looked down at Orchid, who had stood up in all the fuss.

“I’m going to take her home now,” MoonStrider said, cradling her sparkling close. Orchid nodded.

"That would be best after a scare like that." she said before bidding MoonStrider goodbye and they both went to their respective homes.

OoOoOoOoO

MoonStrider left Crimsonwing with her Carrier again before she left for her shift as the entertainer at some bar in the mid-levels.

As an entertainer, she’d play music, sing, and sometimes dance or resite stories (depending on the bar) for the customers entertainment. She made clear specifications that she would not be performing in any other way. Right now she was heading out to perform at a regular bar where she’d sing and play some instruments. The manager warned her Sire than there were frequent drunks in the area. Nothing she couldn’t handle.

MoonStrider was walking through the mid-levels when a merchant stand caught her optic. The stand was overflowing with data pads, all labeled with interesting titles ranging from history to fiction. The data pads themselves were interesting, each colored and designed differently. A gold and blue one attracted her attention.

MoonStrider walked over to the stand- which had only two other bots at besides the merchant- and picked up the data pad. It was labeled “The Mystical pond.” Curious, she turned on the data pad and read through the first page.

She smiled, it was a story book. Crimsonwing would love it.

She turned to the merchant and bought the data pad before poking though the rest of the data pads. She found another good one, a story about some seekers and how they learned to fly.

Now that MoonStrider thought of it, she never learned how to fly in this form. She had knowledge on how to fly, and she had flown in her past life, but all she didn’t learn how to fly in this body. She used her thrusters, but… had she ever transformed? She didn’t remember. She knew she was a jet of some sort from seeing the schematics on her HUD once. She decided to think on it later and continued to poke at the data pads.

It was hard, she kept digging though the data pads, getting increasingly frustrated. This pile of data pads had no filing system! No organization! They just threw the data pads around in piles.

“Are you looking for something in specific?” a baritone voice asked. MoonStrider looked over, then down, to see an adorable looking mech who had also been looking through the daa pads.

“A story,” she said, deciding to let the smaller mech help her. “one that is fictional and maybe has myths in it.” The small mech looked around at the stand, his optics not catching on any of them.

MoonStrider looked him over. He was primarily red, with blue and silver accents. His legs were blue and had three hover pads on each, showing he was a grounder model.  

“Hm, while this stand has some fictional pieces, I do not believe it has any mythical ones.” he said, looking back up to her. She looked down at him in question. the mech blushed and looked down, suddenly shy under her gaze.

“I… catalog things for a living, it comes naturally and I was able to catalog the data pads in my possessor as I looked through them.” he all but mumbled. MoonStrider’s lip curled upwards.

“What would you suggest then?” she asked, standing up from where she had been leaning over some data pads.

“I would suggest going to the Iacon Hall of Records. Every single piece of Cybertronian literature should be there.There is even a section specified for fiction.” he said, his bright blue optics looking up at her.

“Hm, but the Record Hall is closed to the public unless they are of a high cast.” MoonStrider pointed out, her lips pursing out.

“Well…” the mech said slowly, “not if you have someone who works there let you in.” he didn’t look at her when he said this, shuffling his peds against the ground as a bright blue blush crossed his face plates again.

“And do you know someone willing to let me into the Hall?” she asked, not letting the smirk slip onto her lips. She knew where this was going.

“...Me. I mean I! I would be willing to let you in!” he said, stumbling over his words cutely, his optics wide as he looked back up at her. MoonStrider smiled.

“Sure,” she said. Why not? she thought, the mech was adorable, and his shyness and stumbling made him even more so. That and he was a pleasing color to look at.

“Really?” the mech sounded genuinely surprised that she had accepted his offer, and his optics looked up at her in a bright hope .

“Yes,” she reaffirmed. She pulled out a note chip from her subspace, something used for writing small notes down like grocery lists. She scribbled down her comm code and handed it over to the stunned mech.

“I cannot at the moment,” she said, “I have a shift in a few klicks. But I’d be glad to go another cycle.” A part of MoonStrider was surprised that she was going along with this so easily. She thought she’d have a bit more resentment towards bots pining for her time and attention due the the majority of them being major afts with processors full of screw pins. But she wasn’t, not with Orchic, and not with this mech.

The mech took the chip from her claws. She noted that he had flat digits, the opposite of her sharp, pointed ones.

“Give me a ping when you’re free.” she said.

“O-of course.” the mech stuttered, still looking like he got whacked upside the helm with a blessing sent from Primus.

MoonStrider turned and walked away.

OoOoOoOoO

The mech stood there for awhile after the femme left, stunned such a beautiful, otherworldly being even noticed a small data clerk like him. He had taken a leap of faith when he had approached her, thinking that he could at least help her out. She had looked confused and slightly frustrated.

He had originally been walking in the mid-levels of Iacon with his friend when he had spotted the vendor and his goods. The data pads had called to him and his friend had pushed him towards the stand. stating that he’d go to another vendor while he snooped around the data pads. It was a rather small selection of novels, but data was data.

It was there that he had spotted an oddity: a seeker femme.

A seeker femme!

And a big one, too. There was this otherworldly grace around seekers and their kind, their elegancy came naturally and they could soar across the sky like he could walk on the ground. Wings had always alluring, how they moved with every breath of air against them, stretching and fanning out behind them.

The femme had big, beautiful wings that reminded him of a butterfly. She was taller than him, larger than him. He doubted he came up to her chassis even. She had graceful features, one that he expected to see in the higher levels of Iacon. Yet there she was, among the lower like a gold and blue gem surrounded by the dirt and coal of the lower cast. It was highly unusual.

He had watched her for awhile, as un-creepily as he could, just glancing at her from the corner of his optics. He watched as she picked though the data pads, one blue and gold one already tucked under her arm. She seemed to be in the younger section of the data pads. She picked up another data pad, a smaller one, her digits making little ‘clink clink clinks’ as they connected with the metal. He watched as she flicked through it, seemingly pleased with what she found.

He had tried to look like he was concentrating on anything but her, grabbing a large data pad and turning it on, only to absentmindedly flick through it, without reading a single glyph. She had continued to poke through the data pads, growing increasingly frustrated when she didn’t find what she was looking for.

He had felt the anxiety in his gut, and the nagging thought in his helm for him to go and do something, to talk to her. But he hadn’t known what to say! He just stood there for awhile, namely putting the data pad back before -with a sudden burst of courage- he walked over to her.

He had spoken, and her optics locked on him for the first time.

They were gold.

He wasn’t sure what came from his mouth after that, but it seemed to work and the femme spoke back. Her voice was a rich alto, and she had an accent. She was looking for a fiction novel, one with myths in it. From his previous search, there wasn’t that good of a selection.

“I would suggest going to the Iacon Hall of Records. Every single piece of Cybertronian literature should be there.There is even a section specified for fiction.” he had suggested.

“Hm, but the Record Hall is closed to the public unless they are of a high cast.” the femme had said.

“Well…” he had said slowly, unsure where he was going “not if you have someone who works there let you in.”

Oh Primus, he had just said that!

He looked at the ground, embarrassment coursing through his frame. He knew his intentions were obvious now.

It just slipped out.

“And do you know someone willing to let me into the Hall?” she asked, sounding almost amused. Darn it. He was on a sinking ship, perhaps it was best just to go down with it.

“...Me. I mean I! I would be willing to let you in!” he stammered out, looking up at her. He felt like a bumbling fool.

“Sure”

Wait, what?

“Really?” he asked, keeping the ‘are you sure?’ from passing his lips. He was shocked, beyond shocked, that she said anything close to an acceptance to his proposal. He tried not to stare dumbly, but it didn’t seem to work.

“Yes,” she said. He had asked a beautiful, strong seeker femme on an outing, and she had said yes. He didn’t know what dumb luck in the universe that had aligned for this to happen, but he thanked Primus it did.

She handed him a note chip with several numbers on it. A comm number.

““I cannot at the moment,” she said, “I have a shift in a few klicks. But I’d be glad to go another cycle. Give me a ping when you’re free.”

“O-of course!” he stuttered, earning a smile from the femme. She turned and left, leaving him standing there. He was standing there for awhile, staring after the femme, even long after she disappeared.

A tap on his shoulder caused him to jump. He turned to see his friend had returned.

“I see you’ve been makin’ friends, Orion.” his friend said, smiling big, his blue visor flashing.

“Yes, Jazz.” Orion said, holding up the chip.

“Ah, mah’ mech.” Jazz exclaimed, grabbing the chip from Orion before wrapping his  arm around Orion’s shoulders and pulling him close. “Uh femme’s digits, nice work!” Orion blushed, but shared the smile with his friend. “Goods’ ta know ya a charmer like meh.” Jazz teased, causing Orion to laugh.

“I wouldn’t say I’m a ‘charmer’,” Orion said.

“But cha’ got uh femme’s numbah, good enough fo meh!” Jazz patted him once again on the back. “Who was sheh, anyway?”

“A seeker femme-”

“Steppin’ up! How an ol’ ground poundah’ like you and Ah get it with a seekah?”

“I don’t know, my friend, I don’t know.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (AN: *grabs chair and umbrella**waits for the rain of “FINALLY”s in the comments.*
> 
> Its gonna RRRAAIIiiiiIIIINNNNnnnnn
> 
> SOoooo, ORION IN FINALLY HERE! And he is fucking adorable!
> 
> Alright, I have chosen the art winners, just so you know, they are randomly generated, I don’t pick favorites.
> 
> I’m really sorry if everything is a bit slower than normal, I’m juggling 6 commissions of art and 4 major stories and around 10 one-shot/short stories.
> 
> I was gonna say some more things but I totally lost them… Anyway, I'll be dishing out the art and stuff ASAP.
> 
> Till all are one!


	40. Chapter 39: Sing and Play

Chapter 39: Sing and Play

The room hummed as MoonStrider walked across the small stage, a bright, white light pointed on her. She kept her back straight, her chin high, and her strides even as she walked to the stool in the center of the stage. She sat down, leaning slightly forward, towards the piano in front of her. She raised her servos over the massive electo-piano, set her digits over the G chord. She pressed down

“Baby please, don’t ever leave me. You’re all I need, in this world.” she sang, going down the cord before going to A#. The melody repeated, MoonStrider’s other servo coming up to play as well.

“Cast aside, all fear and doubt, for you’re the one I can’t live without

Be it permanently etched upon my spark.” The room had quieted, a few drunk mechs still mumbled in the back, swaying to her song and spilling their drinks.

“Nothing can compare, to all that you hold fair,

Don’t ever change for noone but yourself.” MoonStrider continued, going through the verses and repeating the chorus. She liked this piece, she composed it. It was a simple love song, one she wrote when she had been bored one cycle.

The drunken mechs in the back tried to slur along when she hit the chorus, making MoonStrider smile. She pressed the keys a little harder to make the sounds louder, singing louder as well. She ended the song with a softer chord before pulling back and bowing her helm to the bar attendants, who were clapping. She looked up.

“Any requests?” she asked, and that was how she spent the rest of her shift. She played songs all the way from classical piano to folk songs. She wasn’t too good on the folk songs, she didn’t know any. Some nice mechs in the crowd were happy to teach her. They had sat up next to her and taught her how to play their songs, all of them just laughing and swaying to the music. After awhile she got off the stage and sat at the bar, the mechs from before teaching her bar songs.

MoonStrider threw her helm back and laughed as one mech fell off his chair after downing what seemed to be his tenth high grade that night.

“Moonieh! Ya need tah drink lass!” a mech yelled over the chatter. A glowing pink cube was shoved into her servos, a pleasant purple-color alloy floating at the top. She took a sip, running the liquid through a tube adjacent to her fuel intake to check it. It was a tube that led to a small device that would run the energon through some tests to see if it was poisoned or drugged. She had gotten it installed when she had gotten drugged once while she was still in Kaon. She almost got taken to a brothel, but thankfully Megatronus was there.

The reading came back clean and she took a long drink. It didn’t take her long to finish the first, and another was shoved into her servos right after. She sipped this one, but ended up losing half of it when the bar songs started. She waved her cube in the air with all the other mechs’, energon flying through the air at their topsy-turvy movements. Arms were thrown over shoulders as they all swayed and sang loudly.

“OH MEH BONDED WAS A BEAUTY! PRETTIEST CYBERTON EV’R DID SEH.” they all sang, their collective voices being loud enough to rattle the windows.

MoonStrider liked her performer job, she had a lot of fun at all the different bars and clubs. There were a few not-so-nice places, and some not-so-nice mechs, one mech even tried to buy her! She had quickly set the record straight as a medic had to reset the mech’s arm. Many of the places were good, though.

She went home late. MoonStrider ushered her Carrier home so he could get some sleep. She picked up Crimsonwing from where she fell asleep playing on the couch, more than likely waiting for her. MoonStrider hummed one of the softer folk songs she learned that night as she walked into her berthroom, carrying Crimsonwing. The little sparkling curled into her neck, her tiny wings flicking lightly in her sleep. Her tiny servos clenched and unclenched against MoonStrider’s chassis as she dreamed.

She smiled and crawled into her berth, letting Crimsonwing sleep with her for the lunar cycle.

OoOoOoOoO

It was three cycles later that MoonStrider’s comm. pinged.

She blinked a few times, inspecting the unknown comm. number on her HUD. She was carrying Crimsonwing down the street, towards a small park that the sparkling liked up on the upper level. It was the one she frequently ran into Orchid at.

MoonStrider wondered who in One’s name was comm.ing her. So she answered it.

::Hello:: she greeted the unknown bot.

::Um, hello:: a mech’s voice greeted nervously. ::I actually didn’t expect you to answer, or it actually be your number.:: he said, seemingly to himself.

::Excuse me, who is this?:: MoonStrider asked.

::Oh! I’m uh, Orion. I’m Orion. Um, what is yours?:: Orion asked in a whisper. The designation Orion didn’t ring any bells in her processor.

:: Orion, how did you come across my comm.?:: she bluntly asked.

::You… You gave it to me…:: he stumbled. ::At the data pad stand.::

Bingo, she remembered now.

::Oh! Hello, Orion.:: she said, warmly this time.

::H-hi::

::My designation is MoonStrider.:: she said, answering his earlier question.

::Hello MoonStrider:: he said in a dazed voice. ::So I was uh, wondering if you were free?:: he asked, then rushingly added ::I could show you the archives! They are not that busy at this time in the cycle, so I was just wondering:: MoonStrider smiled, the mech was adorable even over the comm.

::Hm, well I am doing something right now, but you are free to join me.:: she replied.

::Really? What… where are you?:: he stumbled a bit. ::So that I uh… can meet you there.::

::A park on the upper level. The crystal garden near the finary shop.::

::I know where that is, I’ll see you there?::

::Yes,::

::Right now?::

::Yes::

::Oh, ok.::

:: ’ll see you there Orion.::

::See you there:: she hung up after that and continued walking. She reached the park just under three klicks later. Orion was not there yet. She set the now squirming sparkling on the ground and watched as she ran off to the monkey bars. MoonStrider found a nice, large crystal to sit against. She pulled out a data pad and began reading. She was reading up on cybertronian biology when she her shuffling not too far from her.

She looked up from where she was sitting to see a familiar blue and red mech staring down at her as if he couldn’t believe she was actually here.

“Hello, Orion. Why don’t you sit with me?” she greeted patting the ground next to her. He shuffled over to her and sat next to her, carefully sitting down so he wasn’t too close or too far from her. MoonStrider watched him in amusement.

“Hello MoonStrider,” Orion greeted back.

“How has this cycle been treating you, Orion?” she asked, trying to get him to ease him.

“F-fine, it is fine. How has yours been?” he stuttered.

“Quite nice,” she replied. This went on for a bit, MoonStrider asking little questions about Orion’s life, work and hobbies. She answered some of his questions as well. It was a while later that Orchid showed up.

“Hello MoonStrider,” she greeted happily, now comfortable in her presence. She plopped down next to her and smiled brightly up at her.

“Hello Orchid, it is nice to see you here.” MoonStrider greeted back. Orchid then spotted Orion and gave him a withering look.

“Hello,” she said slowly, her back straightening up.

“Hello,” Orion said as well, returning her look but to a lesser degree.

They continued to glare at each other, unnoticed to MoonStrider, who had her optics locked onto Crimsonwing. Orchid scooted closer to MoonStrider, until their legs were touching, this got MoonStrider’s attention. Orchid pressed her chassis to her arm, still glaring at Orion. MoonStrider raised an optical brow and glanced at Orion, who was glaring at Orchid. MoonStrider looked back to Orchid, who then looked up. A bright blush covered Orchid’s face as she realized just what she was doing. She scooted back just a bit, leaving their legs touching.

“Crimson is here, right?” Orchid asked. MoonStrider didn’t know, but she was asking to see if she was here specifically for this new intruder to her attempts to get MoonStrider as her lover. This new mech seemed to have the same goal as her, and she needed to asses the situation and see if she could get MoonStrider’s attention back on her and solely her.

“Yes,” MoonStrider said, looking back to her sparkling.

“Crimson?” Orion asked, worried that yet another bot would be here vying for her attention. MoonStrider looked over.

“My sparkling, Crimsonwing,” she informed.

“You are a carrier?” Orion asked.

“Adoptive, yes.”

“Oh, that is kind of you.” Orion stated. MoonStrider nodded and told the same thing to Orion as she had told Orchid. Orion had the same reaction as Orchid had.

These bots really didn’t know what it was like in anywhere else, MoonStrider thought. They had a comfy bubble around them and were so shocked when they heard anything but good happen.

She missed Megatronus, but he hadn’t contacted her yet. She wasn’t able to contact him, he was moving around constantly, hidden beneath in the undercity of Kaon. She hopped that he would contact her soon.

Crimsonwing came running over, dirt covering her frame and a tiny crystal grasped in her right servo. She hugged MoonStrider’s shin, tittering and shirping up at her.

“Hey there,” MoonStrider sat up, smiling down at the tiny sparkling. Crimsonwing chirped back happily and held up the crystal. “For me?” Crimsonwing nodded. “Why thank you,” she said, grabbing the small crystal from Crimsonwing. Crimsonwing spotted Orion and ducked behind her leg. She peeked her blue and orange optics from behind her leg. Crimsonwing looked up at MoonStrider and chirped, pointing at Orion.

“That is Orion, Crimsonwing. He is a good mech.” MoonStrider urged, patting her between the wings. Crimsonwing watched Orion for a good long moment before slowly walking over. She made a determined face (which looked quite comical on her chubby cheeks) and held out a servo, buzzing and chirping at him.

Orion looked at her in confusion and MoonStrider let out a laugh.

“She’s trying to shake your servo,” she said, grinning down at her funny little sparkling.

“Oh!” he said before lightly taking the sparkling’s servo and shaking it just a bit. “Hello,” Crimsonwing chirped back at him once before returning to MoonStrider. She picked her up and sat her on her lap.

They stayed there for several jours, Crimsonwing running around, chasing little insecticons around and digging up more crystals. The three of them watched her and talked. MoonStrider made a point to avoid talking about herself, not wanting to give anything away just yet to them. She didn’t know Orchid well, and she didn’t know Orion at all. Best to be safe rather than sorry.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Megatronus knelt next the pile of lifeless frames, freshly spilt energon staining his armor. A large, broken blade was held in his servo, the rest of it was sticking out of another mech’s chassis.

He looked around at the destroyed room, his strangely colored optics picking out the 13 dead mechs strewn about it.

He had killed them (obviously), the last of Clench’s mechs in the city. The rest where Primus knows where on Cybertron, but for now, none inhabited Kaon and it’s undercity. He now commanded the gladiators, and they now looked to him. He had their respect and loyalty after being with them as champion for so long, they would follow him in the vorns to come.

He had a decision to make now: keep the pits going, or halt their games.

If anyone had asked him twenty vorns ago, he would have stopped them without a thought. But he was a different mech now, more different than even MoonStrider would know.

He would continue the matches, weed out the weak. Those who fought for their freedom and won earned it.

Megatronus stood up, energon rolling off his armor and blade. He walked out of the room, and was greeted by the sight of five mechs. He grinned, recognising them as fellow gladiators, now freedom fighters.

“Take the frames to the smelting pits, and rally the other gladiators to the main arena…

**_“I have an announcement to make.”_ **

**  
  
**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (AN: *fuckling drowns* I NEEDED MORE THAN AN UMBRELLA! Thank you all, last chapter was my most successful chapters :D Oh and that song that Moony sings at the beginning is actually the start of a song that i wrote :/
> 
> YO, I started a comic, a comic based off of this story!!!! I already have the prologue up!! Go check that out on my DevinatArt!!
> 
> HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!! *Rides egal into the sunset, firing off shotgun and eating a Big Mac*
> 
>  
> 
> TILL ALL ARE ONE!!


	41. Chapter 40: Preach To Me

Chapter 40: Preach To Me

Megatronus met up with the other Gladiators of the pit, rallied them all in the main arena. He stood at the edge of the stands, his peds just above the helms of most of the gladiators in the pit. They all looked up to him as the stood tall, various expressions of awe, fear, and reverence on their faces. They quieted as he began to speak.

“Clench and his men are gone! Deactivated or running with their tails between their legs, either or they have fled the pits.” the mechs below were an uproar of chatter at his words, disbelief and caution on many faces. The older mechs in their ranks remained silent, knowing that Megatronus was far from finished. Megatronus glared down as they chattered until some took notice and bumped the others to be quiet as well. It was only until he had their devout attention that he spoke again.

“We rule the pits now, no longer are we held under the tyrannical thumb of Clench, we are freed from his oppression. No longer are we forced to fight in the grime and dirt for another day of life, for some cheap credits just to buy our next cube. But sadly, there are others that further oppress us beyond that bastard. We must rise to defeat them and gain true freedom.”

“Who oppresses us Megatronus?! Who must we fight!” a random gladiator shouted, empowered by his words. Megatronus was silent for a moment, letting the others shout their agreement and eagerness to spill the energon of their alleged oppressors.

“We will kill them!” they shouted

“The High Council of Cybertron.” suddenly, all the mechs below him looked less willing to go through with their declarations. Megatronus used this moment to speak of the things that had been weighing on his processor for a long time.

“For so long the High Council has ignored the suffering of the lower casts, our suffering. We have been beaten, whipped and trained like dogs to do their underground dirty work. Served as their entertainment as the energon of our brothers and sisters coated the ground. Coated our peds as we were forced to climb on their corpses to gain higher ground to remain above the flood of death. We deserve the right to choose our own paths. We were never destined to be here, as we are now. Primus never looked upon our sparks and predestined us to slaughter each other for another’s entertainment. The only reason we are here… now, is because we crawled out of the well and were destained by another, by them!” Megatronus threw his arm over and pointed to the distance, to where Iacon hid just below the horizon line. “To work as slaves so that they could live in plush comforts and never have to set a ped out of their golden city. Well I say they should earn it!  
“All of them were born into their plush, comfortable life. None had to work-to earn that life! Let us make lives for ourselves, let us forge our own futures, build our own families and fortunes. Not be stuck in this endless loop, full of misogyny from the upper casts crushing us down, silencing us, our voices! from being heard!!”

By now, any doubt the others had in him was gone, replaced with reverence and inspiration. The arena, filled with every gladiator Kaon had, roared with every statement Megatronus made.

“Let us fight! For our right to choose, for our right to build our lives the way we want! Let us fight for our freedom!” he roared, lifting both arms in the air. The ground vibrated from the other gladiators’ response. Mechs roared along with them, stomping their feet, banding their sheilds and weapons they had been using in practice earlier.

Megatronus felt exhilaration like never before, a feeling deep within him that he couldn’t identify sprang up as they cheered and roared. They looked at him with a respect different from before… he was their leader.

They would stand by him, stand behind him as he faced their oppressors, they believe him. They believed in him, that he could lead them out of this time, out of this slavery and darkness.

A revolution, with him at the front.

He could-would- lead Cybertron out of this metaphorical limbo in time, to another golden age.

He would become a great leader, go into history and legend, his name be spoken upon lips with adoration, fear, and respect.

But behind every great mech was a great mate.

And he was missing his…

**  
  
**

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

MoonStrider had a long cycle.

First she went to work at the finary shop and all started off ok, but then some clutz who had a few too many high grades came in and knocked over the majority of the shelves. Three jours later she was still cleaning up the mess. After that was all done, she went home for a few minutes to check on her Carrier and Crimsonwing. Thankfully they were both alright, but her Carrier had asked if he could take Crimsonwing for the night and have a sleepover at their house. She didn’t mind and told him to go ahead and check in every few jours.

After that, she went to her other job. This night it was at a bar up in the higher area.

That was the place where she got in the most trouble.

She had been performing on stage when one of the noble mechs got a bit too handsy. She had called him off but he hadn’t taken the hint and she had to beat him off when he groped her. He had then called the enforcers and she had one hell of a time trying to persuade them that the mech had been the cause of all the fuss. That noble had his servos so far up those enforcers afts he could make them talk.

She ended up getting slapped a heavy ticket and sent home. She fumed the rest of the way home. And to add insult to injury, some fool tried to mug her on the way back. It was probably the best thing that had happened all cycle, at least she had something to blow off some steam with.

Too bad he got a lucky shot in and clipped her wing. She knocked him pretty good after that and went home, still pissed.

MoonStrider was glad for the small miracle of Crimsonwing being at her creator's house when she stomped through the door to her apartment.

Immediately, she knew something was off.

MoonStrider halted at the doorway and silenced all sounds she made. Her audios strained to hear anything at all. She could faintly hear the sounds of another’s systems cycling, hear their steady ventilations.

MoonStrider pulled out the weapon she had hidden beforehand, pulling it out of the doorframe.

She crept forward, every part of her on high alert. She took a defensive position, slowly inching towards the source of the sounds.

But suddenly, all sound stopped.

It was sudden, she couldn’t even hear the normal city chatter outside, or the humming of the building’s power. It was like a thick blanket had been placed over her audios.

She focused on her other senses: her sight, and her wings ability to sense changes in the air.

She jumped into the main room quickly, and twisted to the side to bring her sword down on the intruder. Another blade met hers in a shower of sparks. That was when she got a good look at who was in her home. She let her sword slip between her digits and walked forward, a smile gracing her tired faceplates.

“Megatronus,” she whispered happily. Megatronus smiled down at her, his blue optics alight with his own happiness.

“Hello, MoonStrider.” he purred, moving forward to wrap his arms around her. She buried her helm under his chin and grabbed him around the torso, her servos clenching around the armor of his lower back. She inhaled deeply, taking in his comforting scent and letting the stress from her cycle melt away.

“I missed you,” she said sincerely, nudging her helm further under his.

“I missed you as well,” he rumbled back, rubbing his thumbs into her back. MoonStrider pulled back just a bit.

“How did you find me?” she asked, looking up at him. “I didn’t tell you where I was staying.”

“Your creators helped me.” he said. He gripped her firmly. “MoonStrider, I have done something… incredible.” she tilted her helm to the side, waiting for him to continue. It took him a moment to think over his words before he spoke them.

“Clench’s men… have all fled Kaon and I am now in command of the Gladiatorial rinks there. The others, they have rallied behind me and are willing to do what it takes.” he said proudly, yet soft as well, as if afraid he would anger her.

“For what?” she asked, confused. His grip tightened just a bit.

“For the revolution.” he said. MoonStrider blinked.

“The revolution?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said, gaining a bit more strength in his voice. “A revolution, a war against oppression. A fight for our lives and the choice we have in it. Imagine that, MoonStrider,” he sounded breathless, in awe of the very thought of this freedom. “A world where we can choose our paths, where we work for a better future, where we can gain something and not just run around in circles for another to laugh at.” He pulled her into a hug as he spoke, still wistful and breathy from the thoughts.

“It’s a beautiful thought, Megatronus.” she said, tracing circles in the armor of his chassis. She pulled back a bit, “You must try to achieve this without violence Megatronus.”

He looked down at her, the haze broken. “Why?” he didn’t sound mad, only inquisitive.

“If you go into this guns blazing, you will not be taken serious by anyone but law enforcement who’ll label you as a public threat and set out to kill you. If you want to defeat the cast system you need all casts on your side. A piece of metal is easier to crush when hollow on the inside.” she advised.

“That is a fair point, MoonStrider.” Megatronus hummed, thinking on her words. “We both need to think on things before coming together and thinking of a solid plan.”

“Both of us?” she inquired, raising an optical brow.

“I want you standing by me, MoonStrider. At the front of the fight with me.” he stated strongly. “There is no one else I trust to be fighting at my back if things go sour.” MoonStrider smiled.

“And I will gladly be there,” she pledged. Her expression turned worried. “What of Crimsonwing?” she asked.

“Her and your creators will leave Cybertron long before anything breaks out. Your Sire is a merchant mech, yes? He should have a ship that can carry them to a separatist colony until we are sure we have won and all threats are eliminated.”

“That could take a long time,” she said.

“I know,” he replied, reaching up to trace along her face gently with his claws.

“Let us forget that for now,” he said further, grabbing her a bit roughly and bringing her forward into his frame. “I’ve missed you.” his intention was made clear as his servo groped her aft, two claws going a bit farther down and under to rub at a certain spot.

“Oh,” she said airily, leaning forward and pushing her backside back and into his servo. Her wings flicked and her talons wrapped around his thick upper arms.

“Now, let me show you just how much I have,” he purred.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (AN EEHEHEHEE next chapter will be hardcore smut yall!
> 
> HAPPY FORTIETH CHAPTER!!! (not counting prologue) Can’t wait to hit the next lanyard! (50! 50! 50!)
> 
> Sorry for the delay in updates :P i got a job (blegh) and they looove giving me lots of hours. Sadly, it might get even worse, as i got some busy days ahead of me and i'm gonna be busy almost 24/7 Hopefully i can still find time for all you lovelies~
> 
> OH! I still got the comic up and running and i got 2 more pages out!! (I also do art commissions on there too)
> 
> Tell me what y’all think! What has been your favorite part of this story so far? I’m very curious. And Was Megatron in character?? I’m really curious about that because im afraid to make him OOC so i tried to make his speech as majestic as possible with the underlying threats in it, how’d i do????  
> That is all for now!
> 
> Till All Are One!!


	42. I'll Show You

**Chapter 41: I’ll Show You**

(Warning!! Smut!! Skip to the near end, I’ll mark it, where it stops)

MoonStrider was pushed backwards, her peds scuffing the ground as she was roughly shoved against the nearest wall. Megatronus’s mouth sought out hers, his sharp denta scraping her lips and nicking the mesh to make it bleed slightly. His servos held her tightly around the upper arms, and he placed his weight behind his grip, pinning her by her arms to the wall. 

His glossa slipped into her mouth, toying over her sharp denta and entwined with her glossa. MoonStrider made a low sound in the back of her throat and her optic closed. She pushed her helm into his, crushing their lips together further. Her servos latched onto his side, pulling lightly at the reinforced armor there. 

Megatronus pushed her up, pulling her off the ground. MoonStrider wrapped her legs around his waist and held tight, squeezing his waist between her powerful thighs. Megatronus ground into her, she was now in the perfect position to do so. Height differences were a hindrance at times, but they were inventive. 

MoonStrider let out a high whine as her wings were repeatedly ground into the wall and her interface panel was deliciously abused by Megatronus’s. 

It was desperate, it was heated and rough. Both focused on the other, both wanting to bring the other to the most ground shattering overload they had ever had, just to show how much they missed the other. They didn’t care that it was up against the wall, only that the other was there in their clutches and neither were planning to let go. 

MoonStrider’s panel finally snapped back and he continued to roughly grind into her, his heated, smooth panel rubbing against her entrance, the few ridges in the panel almost painfully digging into the mesh lips of her valve.

“Oh One above,” she moaned into Megatronus’s mouth. Her servos were on every inch of him, mapping familiar scars and new ones. She dug her claws roughly under his armor and pulled at wires and cables, causing him to pull back and gasp loudly from the mix of pain and pleasure. 

Megatronus looked into her optics, a deep, primal lust filling them as he pushed her further into the wall. A click was heard and MoonStrider grinned as she felt something brush against her aft. He leaned forward and bit her neck as he slowly entered her.

MoonStrider groaned deeply and threw her helm against the wall, the stretch of her lover insider her set a deep flame of satisfaction in her gut.  _ She had grown weak _ , she hummed in her mind,  _ to be affected so strongly by such a short time apart _ . But she didn’t dwell on it long, and she didn’t really care at all, either.

She couldn’t muster much of a thought with how her lover was grinding into her, the tip of his spike right on her ceiling node. The ribs on the underside of his spike rolled the inner mesh of her valve, massaging and hitting every node and sensor cluster in there. 

He was seated in her fully, and she quickly adjusted. It wasn’t long before they were rutting against the wall, their sounds growing louder and louder as their pace became feverish.

He yanked her down onto his spike, and she pulled him as hard as she could with her legs. She was very lucky she was well lubricated, or else the pace and friction would have harmed both of them. 

MoonStrider’s optics were lidded and dark, her mouth was wide open as she let out the dirtiest sounds her vocalizer could produce. Megatronus tried desperately to keep his noise level down, trying to keep his mouth occupied with other things (like kissing her neck). But the building overload and sounds she made right in his audio had him moaning and grunting like a vosian-pornstar. Those seekers get  **_loud._ **

Neither lasted long. MoonStrider came first, her strong legs squeezing down on his hips like a pair of pythons. Her claws dug deeply into his shoulder armor. Energy zapped from between small gaps of her armor and the edges of her wings. Her valve walls clamped down on the sides of Megatronus’s spike, lubricant squeezing out the sides and down their legs.

It took Megatronus a few more thrusts before he came. Hunched over, knees buckling and dragging them both to the floor, transfluid shooting deep into his queen and laying claim on her once again with his scent. His vents roared as he did, one servo gouging five deep lines down the wall as he fell. 

They both vented deeply. Megatronus curled his frame around hers encasing her smaller form with his in a protective fashion. It was warm and comforting. She had missed him, and he had missed her. 

They cuddled for the longest time, even as the lubricant and transfluid on their legs dried. One of his servos traced small circles on her back. Her helm was wedged right under his chin, letting her feel the vibrations as he hummed and old tune he had learned from his time as a miner. MoonStrider sighed contently.

“I missed you,” she admitted out loud. Megatronus stopped humming, and chuckled.

“Oh that’s what that was? I couldn’t tell.” he teased, causing MoonStrider to lightly slap his side. He laughed a little louder, pulling her even closer. He was quiet for a moment.

“I missed you, too.” he confessed, causing MoonStrider to grin into his neck.  They laid there for a moment longer before MoonStrider had to move them.

“Come, let us get cleaned off.” she offered, wiggling slightly in his firm grasp. Megatronus huffed, clearly not happy about moving from his comfortable position. MoonStrider looked up. “Lest we be glued together by drying fluids.” she said, painting an unpleasant picture. Megatronus’s face pinched and he nodded. 

They slowly unraveled their legs and arms, cold air chilling their heated and perspiration frames. He slid out of her, making her shiver as the chill spread down south of her borders. MoonStrider moved to stand, but quickly stopped.

“Nope, that isn’t happening.” she said, feeling the sharp ache in her valve. 

“What is it?” Megatronus asked, already standing.

She looked up and grinned. “A little too rough after a little too long, my dear.” she snickered at the sheepish look that crossed his face. Megatronus bent and picked her up. She directed him towards the wash racks, then laughed at him as he tried to use them.

“How does this infernal contraption work!” he grunted, poking at button and pulling levers, only to be squirted on the chassis with some polish. “damn these useless apartment getups.” he grumbled under his breath. “They don’t serve any real use other than to attract consumers. Then they mess up and where is maintenance? On another fragging moon that’s what.” 

MoonStrider continued to giggle in his arms, before taking pity on the poor mech and reaching over and poking a button and then turning a little red dial next to it. Warm solvent came out. Megatronus grumbled again, making her laughed more. She cupped his chin lightly and pulled his face towards her.

“Not everyone can be so smart,” she teased in a silly deep voice, making Megatronus huff at her and pull away. She laughed again.

Megatronus sat on the floor, putting MoonStrider in his lap. He grabbed the sponge and began to cover her with suds. She returned the favor. 

It was nice, and very calm. There was no sexual motivations behind it, not even kissing or lingering touches, just calm appreciation of each other. And a beautiful feeling between them both that she just couldn’t put to words.  

She looked up at him in content bliss. 

“I love you.” she said, letting the words slips easily slip between her lips. 

Megatronus looked down, his optics wider than normal.

Sure they had joked, called each other things like “My Love” and such, but… never seriously. 

He didn’t miss a beat, he let those three words slip out as well and fall into her audios and melt her spark. Her optics were a warm gold color, like butterscotch. He could feel her happiness, her drunk love for him through every fabric of his being. How could he explain it? She had been there for him, and him for her. They’d die for each other without a second thought. They could leave forever, disappear off the face of Cybertron together.

If he asked, she’d follow him anywhere. 

And if she asked, he destroy the universe. 

They spent the rest of the shower basking in each other's presence, and slowly stroking each others plating. The strokes became heated. And the heated touches evolved into passionate kissing, and that into fiery sex that had them both melting into the floor and into one another. Becoming one once again, but now they confessed. They had always known, but now it was out there, for the universe to hear and take witness to. 

And they loved it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (AN: Holy shit, how long has it been? Since August? Damn guys, damn. I normally don't take this long, but summer was shit for me and i was concentrating on other things. Well, better late than never!  
> What did you guys think of the confession? Eh?   
> NOTE: I have changed up what im going to do in the future of this story. While i was gone, i was thinking still of yall and this story and i thought “How could i really piss them off?” And VOLA! A NEW PLOT HAS BEEN MADE!   
> SO! If i gave any indication or spoilers to this story to anyone before hand, well, they dont count anymore. And I asure you, this plot is even BETTER than the last *Evil Laughter*
> 
> Stay tuned and plz comment :D
> 
> Till all are one!


	43. Chapter 42: Suspicion

**Chapter 42: Suspicion**

MoonStrider held onto Crimsonwing, positioning the tiny sparkling on her hip. She kissed the side of the sparkling’s helm, making her giggle and pat at MoonStrider’s face.

They were in their apartment, and they had just spend the day making small goodies and treats out of different colored energon and additives. It had been a week since Megatronus had visited her and she had been noticing a few strange things since.

Every night as she headed home from work, it felt like someone was following her, watching her. This made her very uneasy, her fighting instincts bristling under her armor. MoonStrider took a different route to get home, walking around in circles until she felt her pursuers were gone. 

Bots started visiting the shop, ones far different that her usual customers. These bots were thugs, thieves that she had to bat out of the store every cycle when they tried to slip out with a piece of jewelry under their armor. She was getting angry, watching their optics shift to her like they knew something she didn’t. 

It had gotten to a point where she was keeping Crimsonwing in the house at all times, or with her Creators. She no longer took her to the park or to see Orion of Orchid, both who were confused at MoonStrider’s sudden unease. 

How could she tell two higher cast bots such a thing? Two pampered, entitled bots who’d freak out at the hint of danger due to their over-coddled lifestyle? They’d get the Enforcers on it, and she’d be shipped back to Kaon once they found out who she was. And it wasn’t safe in Kaon, but MoonStrider wasn’t sure it was safe in Iacon anymore either. 

MoonStrider walked over to the couch and started a holopad that broadcasted the news. To her surprise, Megatronus popped up on screen.

‘ _ To my fellow Cybertronians, look at what has become of us… _ ’ his voice sounded over the holopad’s speakers as the small, blue hologram of him and the area around him flickered. 

“What is he doing?” MoonStrider mused out loud to herself. 

‘ _ We scrape at the bottom of the barrel as the higher casts parasite off of our labor and struggles, sitting in their plush living quarters as their lives are handed to them on a platter. They do not fight, they do not earn there way. The only reason they are where they are is because they were sparked there. I say NO MORE! Every Cybertronian should earn their way, work for what they are given! Let those who fight for what they believe in and want have it! Not have the fruit of their precious labor handed to some pompous govern-brats who can't lift their own frames.’  _ Megatronus’s speech went on, and MoonStrider watched with raised optical brows.

“That is one way to start a revolution” she clicked to herself, Crimsonwing babbling on the floor in front of her with a small toy in her servos. 

MoonStrider watched as the viewer numbers climbed at the bottom of the hologram. She was sure there wasn’t one Kaon bot who wasn’t watching. There was cheers in the back noise of the hologram, which grew in volume as Megatronus grew more passionate and insightful. 

‘ _ This is not the Cybertron we wish for our creations to live in! Why bring life into this world, only for the cast system’s collar to choke that life right out? _ ’ MoonStrider watched on, until Megatronus gave his last shout of ‘ _ Bring me to the counsel’s chambers! _ ’ which was followed by a roar from his followers. 

MoonStrider turned off the holopad and rubbed her helm. Megatronus was going to get himself killed. But he had a point, and a good one, too. She sighed and stood, picking up Crimsonwing and carrying her to their room for her sparkling’s nap. She called up her Carrier.

:Could you come watch Crimsonwing for me? I need to go out, it is important.: she asked.

:Of course, dear. I’ll be over in a click: Seajump replied.

:Take the bridge, someone has been watching my building.: 

:Oh my, that is bad. You should move, and soon.:

:I plan to, Carrier:

:Good: a ground bridge opened and her Carrier walked through. 

“Where is Crimsonwing?” he asked, looking around.

“She is asleep in the other room, down for her nap.” she informed. Seajump nodded and shooed her off. 

MoonStrider did not waste any time, she turned out the door and took off towards Kaon. 

OoOoOoOoOoO

“You have a lot of barings, pulling a stunt like that over the Grid.”

“You’d know the size of my barings wouldn’t you?”

“Be serious, Megatronus”

Megatronus rolled his optics in her direction. “I am, that speech was needed.”

“I never said it wasn’t” MoonStrider said, crossing her arms. “Just that it took a lot to do it. You’ve created quite a stir, Megatronus. And I don’t know if it’s good or bad yet.” Megatronus stood and took her servos into his.

“We’ll have to wait and see.” she nodded at his words before sighing and sitting down. 

“I need information, MoonStrider.” he suddenly said to her, he kneeled in front of her and took her servos into his larger ones. “Information only you can get me.” she looked him in the optics.

“What do you need?” she complied, grasping his servos tighter.

“The Iacon Hall of Records holds every bit of information Cybertron has, I need access to its mainframe.” he said.

“What for?” she raised an optical brow.

“I need the layout of major cities, politics, and statistics. I need confidential files that the Council keeps locked away: mining conditions, Gladiatorial coverups, government pay offs or bribes.” he states, “Anything that can help me bring their corruption to light, to help end the caste systems. Her helm tilted down as she thought for a moment, but an idea struck her.

“I know just the bot…”

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

MoonStrider flew home, contemplating her next actions. 

She would have prefered to keep Orion out of things, but he could be a valued asset to Cybertron’s freedom. She had sent a data packet over the Grid to Orion, with captions of Megatronus’s speeches and letters, and asked him his opinion. The archivist seemed greatly enthralled with Megatronus’s words and said he would get back to her after he had researched all he had. 

She felt guilty, she was basically setting him up to get them inside the Hall of Records. Knowing Orion, he wouldn’t hesitate to contact Megatronus to learn more information from the source directly, and knowing Megatronus, he’d capture Orion’s attentions more than a simple exchange of information. She herself was a prime example of how captivating Megatronus could be. 

MoonStrider landed at the front of her apartment building in the lower levels and walked in. Her mind was so clouded with thoughts of the future, she failed to notice the present. The mess of the hallways, the ripped metal walls, the broken glass and doors to other apartments.

She only noticed the mess when she reached her apartment doors.

The door was broken in three pieces, and peeled back like the skin of an energon fruit. Her optics widened and worry coursed through her as she stealthily sneaked into her apartment. 

_ ‘A burglar? Thugs? That one fragger she threw out of the store? Who could it be? _ ’ she thought, seeing the scorch marks on the walls from some weapon, and the slash marks that could only have been from her Carrier’s long sword that she had gotten him. Panic creeped up into her spark as she took a look around at the chaos of her once comfy apartment. 

Her table was split in two, her couch overturned, any trinkets or pictures she had along the wall were on opposite sides of the room, shattered like they were thrown. Data pads, glass, and metal scraps, who's familiar colors brought a knot into MoonStrider’s throat. 

She looked frantically through her home, screaming for her sparkling and Carrier, uncaring of any threats, just worried beyond reason. There was no sign of either, only energon and scraps of metal. 

MoonStrider’s opics were wide with fear and panic, feelings she had not felt since Megatronus had almost died in the ring. 

It was then she noticed a lone, undamaged data pad lying on her counter. She walked over and picked it up, her spark shuttering at the first image that came up.

It was her sparking and Carrier, both battered and covered in energon, but still alive. 

Underneath read this:

_ Hello my Dear, _

_ Your big buffoon of a mate made quite a mess of my business, and left quite a  _

_ stain on my reputation. _

_ I intend to rectify that.  _

_ And what better way to redeem myself than killing the loved ones _

_ of the mech who did all that? _

_ You have 12 jours to find us and hand yourself over in return for your _

_ sparkling and Carrier’s lives.  _

_ Sincerely… _

  
  


The data pad broke in her grip as rage coursed through every fiber of her being.

**_“CLENCH!”_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (AN: dun dun DUUUNN! Lets see what that asshole is up to hmm?  
> Thank you for sticking with me guys!! :D  
> Till all are one!)


End file.
